Google Chrome stands alone at PWN2OWN
By Davey Winder in Editorial
Posted in Security, Firefox, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Apple on
Which web browser client is least at risk from hackers? If the PWN2OWN hacking competition is any measure of client security, then the clear winner was Google Chrome.
Of course, not everything is always as straightforward as it seems. And that is certainly the case when it comes to the annual PWN2OWN hacking championships that are run during the CanSecWest security conference. Standard PCs and Macs running default OS installations are used, loaded up with fully patched and current versions of the target software and no additional plug-ins to help the hackers. The rules seems pretty simple: hack the app as quickly as possible, with code execution as a requirement.
First of the web browsers to fall was Apple Safari running on a MacBook which lasted between 5 and 10 seconds in total. Charlie Miller managed to ‘own’ it by exploiting a previously unknown vulnerability and then simply clicking on a malicious URL. He proved to the judges that as a result of the remote code execution he had full control over the Mac.
Next was, perhaps a little surprisingly, Internet Explorer 8. A German chap known only as Nils managed to exploit a new vulnerability in IE8, running on a recent build of Windows 7. Someone who was no doubt surprised would be the main Internet Explorer 8 man at Microsoft, Dean Hachamovitch, who gave his keynote at the Las Vegas Mix 09 conference to launch the public release of IE8 just a few hours later proclaiming that the browser had been engineered to withstand evolving attack methods used by hackers. Oh dear. Nils, mean while, went back to the keyboard and then managed to successfully hack the Firefox browser client as well.
Two bits of good news did emerge from all this though. Firstly that these new vulnerabilities will not remain exploitable for long, indeed Microsoft are said to have already fixed the IE8 one and the patch is likely to roll out real soon now. This courtesy of the competition sponsors, TippingPoint, who pay the winning hackers a cash prize which also buys them the rights to the vulnerability details and exploit code which are immediately passed over to the vendors concerned.
Secondly, the competition did seem to prove one thing: if you want the most secure of the mainstream web browser clients then Google Chrome would appear to be the way to go. During the course of the competition, it remained unhackable it would seem. Safari hacking supremo Charlie Miller did manage to find a vulnerability, but unlike previous vulnerabilities Miller reports that he was unable to exploit this one thanks to the sandboxing and security features of Chrome.
Rated: 100% (5 votes)
Loading ...Pingback by - March 26, 2009 on 7:59 pm
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Pingback by - April 3, 2009 on 5:21 pm
[…] Its total ****e, there are now hundreds of exploits that are in the public domain, Ms can’t keep up. This is an interesting read.. IT PRO: Blogs: Davey Winder: Google Chrome stands alone at PWN2OWN […]
Comment by - April 23, 2009 on 12:26 pm
I notice firefox didn’t get ‘pwn’d either, so chrome isn’t special or what?
Comment by Sean - April 23, 2009 on 3:16 pm
“…successfully hack the Firefox browser client…” last line of the third last paragraph, firefox was hacked. so chrome is still special, in a way
Pingback by - April 27, 2009 on 3:04 am
[…] contest (forgetting to mention the wee lil fact that Google Chrome actually outlasted it.. - article from ITPro)… NSS Labs recently released a paper that touts putting all the current browsers through […]
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