Comment by gcr
1 day ago
What does “unverified protocols” mean? Does Windows have an exe:// url scheme that fetches and runs executable binaries or something?
1 day ago
What does “unverified protocols” mean? Does Windows have an exe:// url scheme that fetches and runs executable binaries or something?
Yes? ShellExecute opens a url if you pass in a url, opens a file if you pass in a path, and runs an .exe if that file is an .exe. Windows also supports SMB paths, so combine that together and you have a RCE
But is it running ShellExecute on URIs?
I believe it is. Just tested it. You can make the link "C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe" and clicking it will launch the Command Prompt. I noticed you can't make it "C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe /c some-nefarious-thing"; it doesn't like the space. Exploiting may require you to ship both the malicious EXE and the MD, then trick the user into clicking the link inside the MD. But then you could have just tricked them into directly clicking the EXE.
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