The Windows Metafile vulnerability—also called the Metafile Image Code Execution and abbreviated MICE—is a security vulnerability in the way some versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system handled images in the Windows Metafile format. It permits arbitrary code to be executed on affected computers without the permission of their users. It was discovered on December 27, 2005, and the first reports of affected computers were announced within 24 hours. Microsoft released a high-priority update to eliminate this vulnerability via Windows Update on January 5, 2006.[1] Attacks using this vulnerability are known as WMF exploits.
The vulnerability was located in gdi32.dll and existed in all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows 3.0 to Windows Server 2003 R2. However, attack vectors only exist in NT-based versions of Windows (Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003). Exploits taking advantage of the vulnerability on Windows NT-based systems facilitated the propagation of various types of malware, typically through drive-by downloads.
Due to extreme impact, this bug won the 2007 Pwnie Award for "Mass 0wnage" and "Breaking the Internet".
^"Microsoft Releases Security Update to Fix Vulnerability in Windows", PressPass, Microsoft, January 5, 2006, archived from the original on January 18, 2006
and 14 Related for: Windows Metafile vulnerability information
The WindowsMetafilevulnerability—also called the Metafile Image Code Execution and abbreviated MICE—is a security vulnerability in the way some versions...
WindowsMetafile (WMF) is an image file format originally designed for Microsoft Windows in the 1990s. The original WindowsMetafile format was not device-independent...
He became well known when he issued a free hotfix for the WindowsMetafilevulnerability on 31 December 2005.[citation needed] His unofficial patch was...
Symantec immediately removed the rootkit. He also analyzed the WindowsMetafilevulnerability and concluded that it was not a deliberate backdoor. This possibility...
concerns for rewriting old legacy code. Microsoft Windows suffered from "the" WindowsMetafilevulnerability and other exploits related to the WMF format....
of the PostScript. Sometimes, although more rarely, they used the WindowsMetafile (WMF) format instead. WMF has the potential to provide vector previews...
into the WindowsMetafile processing code in Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Gibson claimed that while reverse engineering the WindowsMetafile format, he...
outbreaks such as Blaster, Sasser, and Zotob, as well as the WindowsMetafilevulnerability. Toulouse suggested in a personal blog entry in 2006 that Apple's...
Enhanced Metafile (EMF), WindowsMetafile (WMF), Apple PICT, Windows device-dependent bitmap, Windows device-independent bitmap and OS/2 Metafile picture...
interpret PDF data without external help. PDF was selected as the "native" metafile format for Mac OS X, replacing the PICT format of the earlier classic Mac...
JPEG, Progressive JPEG, PNG, GIF and (DWG) AutoCAD Drawing file (WMV) WindowsMetafile capability. Flash Player 11 introduced a full 3D shader API, called...
zero-day Adobe Acrobat and Reader vulnerability that's become the subject of hacker attacks. Adobe acknowledged the vulnerability last week but said an official...
BitTorrent trackers. BitTorrent metafiles themselves do not store file contents. Whether the publishers of BitTorrent metafiles violate copyrights by linking...