Advisory Url: http://www.zeroscience.mk/en/vulnerabilities/ZSL-2015-5229.php

Alienware Command Center 2.8.8.0 Local Privilege Escalation

Title: Alienware Command Center 2.8.8.0 Local Privilege Escalation
Advisory ID: ZSL-2015-5229
Type: Local
Impact: Privilege Escalation
Risk: (2/5)
Release Date: 25.02.2015
Summary

Alienware Command Center is a software program developed by Alienware. The
most common release is 2.8.8.0, with over 98% of all installations
currently using this version. During setup, the program creates a startup
registration point in Windows in order to automatically start when any
user boots the PC. Upon being installed, the software adds a Windows
Service which is designed to run continuously in the background. Manually
stopping the service has been seen to cause the program to stop functing
properly. It adds a background controller service that is set to
automatically run. Delaying the start of this service is possible through
the service manager. A scheduled task is added to Windows Task Scheduler
in order to launch the program at various scheduled times (the schedule
varies depending on the version). The primary executable is named
AlienFusion.exe. The setup package generally installs about 99 files and
is usually about 19.05 MB (19,979,162 bytes).
Description

The application suffers from an unquoted search path issue impacting the
service 'ioloenergybooster' for Windows deployed as part of Alienware
Command Center. This could potentially allow an authorized but
non-privileged local user to execute arbitrary code with elevated
privileges on the system. A successful attempt would require the local
user to be able to insert their code in the system root path undetected by
the OS or other security applications where it could potentially be
executed during application startup or reboot. If successful, the local
user’s code would execute with the elevated privileges of the application.
Vendor

Alienware Corporation - http://www.alienware.com
Affected Version

2.8.8.0
Tested On

Microsoft Windows 8
Vendor Status

N/A
PoC

alienware_eop.txt
Credits

Vulnerability discovered by Humberto Cabrera - <humbe@zeroscience.mk>
References

N/A
Changelog

[25.02.2015] - Initial release
Contact

Zero Science Lab

Web: http://www.zeroscience.mk
e-mail: lab@zeroscience.mk