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Dark Archon
01-18-2008, 07:33 AM
Hi all

This is urgent news for all of those who uses private trackers, especially What.cd/waffles or any of the popular ones

SWITCH TO UTORRENT 1.7.6 (if you are using utorrent ofcourse) NOW OR YOU WILL PROBABLY BE BANNED ON EVERY TRACKER

Whatcd



The staff at What.cd highly recommend you immediately update to 1.7.6 if you are using the uTorrent client. There is a bug that will allow a user (or agency) to remotely crash your client. The uTorrent team state the flaw affects all older uTorrent versions 1.6 and 1.7.x. too but have been quick to respond, releasing a new build - uTorrent 1.7.6 (build 7859) which has fixed the issue.

You can read the news story here http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-clients-vulnerable-to-remote-dos-attack-080117/

2008-01-15: Version 1.7.6 (build 7859)
- Change: do not use adapter subnet to identify local peers
- Fix: double-clicking to open items in RSS releases tab
- Fix: remote crash bug (affects all 1.6.x, 1.7.x, and 1.8 builds released to date)
- Fix: limit local peers if disk is congested

There are also reports of a s PoC code to EXECUTE code on overflow, so this would allow a remote attacker to run code on your machine.

Even if they are unable to execute code, the health of our swarms are highly at risk. Anti P2P agencies will quite possibly be running bots to crash clients as soon as they can, which could easily be before you've even read this announcement. A very large percentage of all peers on all trackers are running a vulnerable client and these bots can and will destroy swarms.

It is very likely we will be banning all vulnerable uTorrent clients, the few users we may lose because of not allowing 1.6.x will secure the survival of the swarm. As it is now if users do not upgrade and we continue to allow the flawed versions a bot run to crash peers on this tracker could easily cut our peers and even our seeded torrents in half. To achieve herd immunity we will likely be forced to make this update mandatory, as I know many of you are stubborn on upgrading past the 1.6 series ( I too was a 1.6.1 user until now).

You can ofcourse switch to another client altogether, there will be some sites that are slower to allow 1.7.6 but I am fairly sure when I say it will move alot faster than other whitelistings, and it is quite possible many or most sites will even ban previous versions as we will have to do if the majority ignore warning and put our swarms at risk of being DOS'd.

Update from a BMTV sysop generally the last site to allow new builds

"I've just added uTorrent 1.7.6 to the allow list after find out about the Static Overflow.
Vulnerable Systems:
* BitTorrent version 6.0 build 5535 and prior
* uTorrent version 1.7.5 build 4602 and prior
* uTorrent version 1.8-alpha-7834 and prior

There is already code out there to take over an XP machine running uTorrent 1.6."

So don't think we are alone in thisWaffles


Waffles users using µTorrent must update to 1.7.6 by Jan-20-08. The sooner, the better.
There is a bug that will potentially allow a user/agency to crash your client. There are rumors that it may be even possible to execute code.

You can read more on this issue here: http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-clients-vulnerable-to-remote-dos-attack-080117/

"The uTorrent team state the flaw affects all older uTorrent versions 1.6 and 1.7.x. too but have been quick to respond, releasing a new build - uTorrent 1.7.6 (build 7859) which has fixed the issue."

You may download the updated client here: http://download.utorrent.com/1.7.6/utorrent.exe
You can also check for updates within the client itself, using Help -> Check for updates

"So far, the problem appears to affect these clients:

- BitTorrent 6.0 (build 5535)
- uTorrent 1.7.5 (build 4602)
- uTorrent 1.8 (alpha 7834)"

After January 19th, non-updated clients will be banned.According to TorrentFreak:



uTorrent and Official BitTorrent Client Vulnerable to Remote DOS Attack
Written by enigmax on January 17, 2008

Both the official BitTorrent and uTorrent clients are vulnerable to a remote denial-of-service attack, due to the way they handle user-supplied data. Versions found to be vulnerable so far are the official BitTorrent 6.0 client,
uTorrent 1.7.x, uTorrent 1.6.x and uTorrent 1.8-alpha-7834.

Security vulnerabilities in BitTorrent clients are relatively rare, although not unheard of. Luigi Auriemma, a Milan-based security expert, claims to have found a vulnerability in various BitTorrent clients based on the way they handle user-supplied data. The flaw allows an attacker to crash the application, effectively denying service to legitimate users. Code execution is not possible, which means there is little reason for users to panic.

So far, the problem appears to affect these clients:

- BitTorrent 6.0 (build 5535)
- uTorrent 1.7.5 (build 4602)
- uTorrent 1.8 (alpha 7834)

Luigi is reporting that earlier versions of these clients may also be vulnerable and this appears to have been confirmed by the uTorrent team. The problems are confirmed to exist on Windows versions of the software. As yet, Mac and Linux versions of the official BitTorrent client have not been tested.

The bug in detail (from Luigi’s site):

By default both the clients have the “Detailed Info” window active with the “General” section visible in it where are reported various informations about the status of the torrent and the trackers in use.

In this same window near “General” there is also the “Peers” section which is very useful since it showes many informations about the other connected clients like the percentage of availability of the shared torrent, their IP address, country, speed and amount of downloaded and uploaded data and moreover the version of their client (like “BitTorrent 6.0″, “Azureus 3.0.3.4″, “uTorrent 1.7.5″, “KTorrent 2.2.4″ and so on).

When this window is visualized by the user the unicode strings with the software versions of the connected clients are copied in the relative static buffers used for the visualization in the GUI through the wcscpy function.

If this string is too long a crash will occur immediately or in some cases (like on BitTorrent) could happen later or when the user watches the status of another torrent or leaves the “Peers” window. Code execution is not possible.

For exploiting the problem is enough that an external attacker connects to the random port opened on the client and sends the long client version and the SHA1 hash of the torrent currently in use and watched
on the target. Note that all these parameters (client IP, port and torrent’s hash) are
publicly available on the tracker.

The uTorrent team state the flaw affects all older uTorrent versions 1.6 and 1.7.x. too but have been quick to respond, releasing a new build - uTorrent 1.7.6 (build 7859) which has fixed the issue.

Make your switch to uTorrent 1.7.6

http://www.utorrent.com/download.php

For Change logs
http://download.utorrent.com/1.7.6/utorrent-1.7.6.txt

Take care and switch..all other trackers will be notified as well shortly.

second
01-18-2008, 07:43 AM
thanks for the heads up. updating now :)

Artemis
01-18-2008, 07:44 AM
From the waffles homepage warning on this:

"So far, the problem appears to affect these clients:

- BitTorrent 6.0 (build 5535)
- uTorrent 1.7.5 (build 4602)
- uTorrent 1.8 (alpha 7834)"

After February 1st, non-updated clients will be banned, EXCEPT for the 1.6 series.

so apart from What everyone else supports 1.6.1 and as yet even the utorrent team has not tested whether 1.6.1 suffers from the buffer overflow error.

Zaxx
01-18-2008, 07:51 AM
Already being discussed here:

http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/f-bittorrent-43/t-utorrent-176-out-safe--269766

and here:

http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/f-bittorrent-43/t-what-sites-ban-latest-utorrent-builds-269905

0Ri0N
01-18-2008, 08:10 AM
Updated to 1.7.6, thanks for the info. ;)

VIZFX
01-18-2008, 08:15 AM
Very good info. I'm a utorrent user as well so thanks.

pandabear
01-18-2008, 08:17 AM
You don't risk ban persay, your client risks ban, making it impossible to use the announce. This thread seems to be a lot more urgent than it needs to be.

game1283
01-18-2008, 10:32 AM
Many THANKS!! :)

yayyyyyy
01-18-2008, 10:37 AM
so apart from What everyone else supports 1.6.1 and as yet even the utorrent team has not tested whether 1.6.1 suffers from the buffer overflow error.

hdbits going to ban any precedent version too :)


uTorrent 1.7.6 (http://www.utorrent.com/download.php) is out, get downloading it :) Fixes a vulnerability with all other versions of utorrent that potentially allowed someone to crash your utorrent.
All other versions (except 1.8b) will be banned in a few days, to keep you all up to date (why use out of date software?)

PS: if you still didn't get it: ANY precedent version is vulnerable.

sleepyy
01-18-2008, 10:56 AM
I'm not going to use two different clients for the sake of one site if the majority of the torrent sites force me to upgrade i will just switch to azures i know the issue of the 1.6 utorrent has not been proved so i keep hearing since the the release of utorrent 1.6 i have never had any problems and i have never been targeted or had problems so i will stick with what i am used to i have nothing on my machine anyhow worth anything to anybody everything that is worthy is encrypted and stuck on a usb stick and is put where the sun don't shine

DeNeDe
01-18-2008, 10:59 AM
10x ..

stoi
01-18-2008, 11:05 AM
im not sure what we are going to do about this yet, we do allow 1.7.6 but we also allow, 1.6.0, 1.6.1, 1.7.5.

I even use 1.6.1 on Vista (tbh i have no problems with it on vista so not sure what the poster above was on about)

But surely this is a client side problem, Not a tracker problem (IE it does not report wrong stats to the tracker etc) so im not sure why its the trackers responsibilty to ban earlier versions if its a user side problem and not a tracker problem.

$we
01-18-2008, 11:54 AM
im not sure why its the trackers responsibilty to ban earlier versions if its a user side problem and not a tracker problem. A client that is malevolent to the user, the swarm, and the tracker should not be sanctioned by the tracker, if only because the tracker values the integrity of the swarm and therefore their own existence.

The client may not be malevolent to the swarm of a tracker in itself, but it certainly has the potential to be abused by malevolent crackers. See the OP. That potentiality is reason enough to ban anything but those clients that are invulnerable to this dos attack.

So, it's not about some foggy responsibility; it's a question of whether the tracker values their own swarm.

zedex
01-18-2008, 12:18 PM
1.6.1 is the best and no need at all to upgrade it

Giveaway
01-18-2008, 12:49 PM
thanks for the heads up mate

fOrUmAs
01-18-2008, 01:14 PM
upgrade is complete :D

C-mos
01-18-2008, 01:31 PM
10x guys :)

DyNast
01-18-2008, 01:34 PM
Come on, everybody, if you wanna use uTorrent - use 1.6.1
why risking yourself with the MPAA\RIAA?


µTorrent and BitTorrent join forces @µTorrent site (http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=17279)

uTorrent bought by MPAA @dslreports (http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/r18728335-Utorrent-bought-by-MPAA)

µTorrent dev cooperates with Anti-piracy group (http://www.specialmods.nl/viewtopic.php?t=3355)

FatBob
01-18-2008, 01:37 PM
so what and waffles are the only tracker that have banned utorrent 1.6.1 ?

grimms
01-18-2008, 01:37 PM
Wow... I don't know what to do about this. I have been only using version 1.6 for almost 2 years now. I'm at odds about this. May have to make the switch it if more sites force me to do so. I don't want to risk being banned over all this.

FatBob
01-18-2008, 01:39 PM
Code execution is not possible, which means there is little reason for users to panic.

why the hell should i change then ?

monk3y
01-18-2008, 01:41 PM
thanks for the warning :)

Medooooo
01-18-2008, 01:57 PM
Thx guys.:)

mestari
01-18-2008, 02:14 PM
1.6.1 stays for me :P

grimms
01-18-2008, 02:19 PM
Well looks like Hdbits is banning all versions below 1.76 as well with the exception of uTorrent 1.8b.

fOrUmAs
01-18-2008, 03:10 PM
Code execution is not possible, which means there is little reason for users to panic.why the hell should i change then ?


after u read all in first page then u will see why,well no one force u to change but if u are utorrent user than on waffles,what and few others u cant download or upload no more with 161 or any 17x except 176..

lol its not that hard to change from 161 to 176:)

hangemhigh
01-18-2008, 03:19 PM
this is the last line in the waffles announcement...
"After February 1st, non-updated clients will be banned, EXCEPT for the 1.6 series."

I won't even ask why you cut that out... but my beloved 161 stays put..thak you.

Cabalo
01-18-2008, 03:50 PM
i'm sticking with 1.6.1 until my daily trackers no longer allow its use, though i see no reason why this excellent version should be banned (the best in my opinion).
oh, and you are not getting banned for using these clients, u just won't be able to connect or use the announce (meaning: no downloading)

shijo
01-18-2008, 04:34 PM
why not utorrent developers just fix the security vulnerability in 1.6.1
they should issue an update patch for 1.6.1 like that of pc games patches

pro267
01-18-2008, 04:39 PM
This is a good time for users to check out the competing Azureus client:
Download link (https://sourceforge.net/project/downloading.php?groupname=azureus&filename=Azureus_2.5.0.4a_Win32.setup.exe)

It's an excellent client, with the basic layout similar to utorrenet but a lot more power underneath. It's also a lot larger and memory consuming, but on most computers (i.e. not seedboxes) this really shouldn't be a problem.

Make sure you turn off the auto update if you install this version or it will constantly bug you about upgrading to the next release.

xGreg
01-18-2008, 04:57 PM
Which is the best choice right now? utorrent 1.6.1 or 1.7.6 ??

Im confused

Tokeman
01-18-2008, 05:00 PM
1.7.6 all previous versons appear to be vulnerable to the bug. A lot of trackers will be banning anything below 1.7.6. You have been warned.

grimms
01-18-2008, 05:16 PM
Is anybody else having trouble downloading with uTorrent version 1.7.6? I just upgraded from uTorrent 1.6.1 against my will (trackers made me do it).

aysomc
01-18-2008, 05:21 PM
when 1.6.1 gets banned on the trackers i use then i will update. nothing before then since ive been through this before, what happens tomorrow if they find a new bug in 1.7.6 and so on. its getting fucking ridiculous but so far i know i can trust 1.6.1

grimms
01-18-2008, 05:22 PM
Nevermind working for me now. Trackers probably just needed time to update my client status.


when 1.6.1 gets banned on the trackers i use then i will update. nothing before then since ive been through this before, what happens tomorrow if they find a new bug in 1.7.6 and so on. its getting fucking ridiculous but so far i know i can trust 1.6.1

Hdbits and what are banning uTorrent 1.6.1 and possibly in the future, Waffles, The Place, and The Vault. I switched but if they unban 1.6.1 i'm going right back to uTorrent 1.6.1. Never had any problems, I was ever aware of.

Tokeman
01-18-2008, 05:25 PM
hdbits going to ban any precedent version too :)


uTorrent 1.7.6 (http://www.utorrent.com/download.php) is out, get downloading it :) Fixes a vulnerability with all other versions of utorrent that potentially allowed someone to crash your utorrent.
All other versions (except 1.8b) will be banned in a few days, to keep you all up to date (why use out of date software?)

PS: if you still didn't get it: ANY precedent version is vulnerable.

All previous versions are vulnerable as stated. You will be forced to upgrade eventually here on any site with admins that care about their swarms. If not today, it will be soon, mark my words.
This includes you 1.6.1 people, so be prepared.

grimms
01-18-2008, 05:28 PM
I keep getting leech from one location at a time error in uTorrent. I just switched uTorrent versions. Is that the problem?

Also myspleen is saying uTorrent 1.7.6 is a bad client read the faq in my client. I should just revert back to uTorrent 1.6. I never had any of these problems before.

TankGrrl
01-18-2008, 05:37 PM
i have nothing on my machine anyhow worth anything to anybody everything that is worthy is encrypted and stuck on a usb stick and is put where the sun don't shine


ewwwwwwwwwww!!!

bunny67
01-18-2008, 05:39 PM
After February 1st, non-updated clients will be banned, EXCEPT for the 1.6 series.
so people not reading properly 1.6 series is ok duh

thebazzla
01-18-2008, 05:40 PM
well i installed the new version after TTI banned the 1.6.1 version and everything seems to be running ok

TankGrrl
01-18-2008, 05:40 PM
After February 1st, non-updated clients will be banned, EXCEPT for the 1.6 series.
so people not reading properly 1.6 series is ok duh


i'm sticking with 1.6.1 until my daily trackers no longer allow its use, though i see no reason why this excellent version should be banned (the best in my opinion).
oh, and you are not getting banned for using these clients, u just won't be able to connect or use the announce (meaning: no downloading)

same here... 1.61 rawks

grimms
01-18-2008, 05:50 PM
Nothings downloading for me with the new version. I thought i fixed it guess not.:(

Nevermind again. Just seems like it's taking longer to connect to the swarm vs uTorrent 1.6.1. Just have to get use to change a bit more.

bigdaddykane
01-18-2008, 06:07 PM
sticking with 1.6.1 for as long as i can

Pinkii
01-18-2008, 06:18 PM
Why is everyone so against updating their client? I don't see why you would stick with 1.6.1, a version that can still be vulnerable to the bug, when they have released a version that fixes it.
I mean you update all your other software right? So why not your torrent client?
It just seems silly to me.

fOrUmAs
01-18-2008, 07:08 PM
From ScT



Older uTorrent versions banned
We are forcing all users using uTorrent to upgrade to the latest version. This forced update is due to a remotely exploitable crash bug (and possible code execution) in all previous versions.

For users of versions less than 1.7.6, you can get the updated 1.7.6 stable.
For users that have been using the 1.8 alpha releases, you require at least build 7928

netwon
01-18-2008, 07:14 PM
nice info, thanks foe the update!

sefo
01-18-2008, 07:20 PM
From ScT



Older uTorrent versions banned
We are forcing all users using uTorrent to upgrade to the latest version. This forced update is due to a remotely exploitable crash bug (and possible code execution) in all previous versions.

For users of versions less than 1.7.6, you can get the updated 1.7.6 stable.
For users that have been using the 1.8 alpha releases, you require at least build 7928
thanks for the info

thebazzla
01-18-2008, 07:21 PM
it looks like a lot of trackers are even banning everything under 1.7.6 even if you like 1.6.1 so you haven't a choice really

naaceer
01-19-2008, 12:00 PM
2 years of stability has gone ?
i think utorrent team discover that no one has donate since 1.6.1

its good time to switch to azureus now

fOrUmAs
01-19-2008, 01:59 PM
2 years of stability has gone ?
i think utorrent team discover that no one has donate since 1.6.1

its good time to switch to azureus now

why dont u read again and again and again...why have they released 176 and why most trackers have done good move with that..


lol yea becuase no one havent donate they have made new one:dabs:

yea good luck with azureus:lol:

$we
01-19-2008, 02:04 PM
Why is everyone so against updating their client? I don't see why you would stick with 1.6.1, a version that can still be vulnerable to the bug, when they have released a version that fixes it.
I mean you update all your other software right? So why not your torrent client?
It just seems silly to me.

It not only seems, it is silly. I think people are still 'rebelling' against bittorrent inc.for being endorsed by the MPAA. How irrational.

maul1515
01-19-2008, 05:12 PM
Hopefully admins will do a little research before banning 1.6.1...

http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?pid=298736#p298736

http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-clients-vulnerable-to-remote-dos-attack-080117/#comment-267207

rvt
01-19-2008, 05:14 PM
I've spent some time looking into this issue.

The POC code on milw0rm relies on creating a malicious torrent file which the uT user opens. On any sites without public uploads, or those that clean the uploaded torrents, there is no real problem.

Another issue mentioned on torrentfreak recently revolves around an overflow bug in extended messaging.
When an attacker sends a long enough string for version info, and the user views the peers tab, uT will crash.

1.6.x versions are not vulnerable to this attack, as they never display the version info obtained from extended messaging in the peers tab.
1.7.x are vulnerable.

Have not tested 1.8.x

1.6.x still has some life in it yet :P

fOrUmAs
01-19-2008, 05:52 PM
Hopefully admins will do a little research before banning 1.6.1...

http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?pid=298736#p298736

http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-clients-vulnerable-to-remote-dos-attack-080117/#comment-267207

im sure admin or owners know much more then u..so nothing will change they decision,also if u dont like it then dont use it,it cant be more simple then that;)

FatBob
01-19-2008, 05:53 PM
I've spent some time looking into this issue.

The POC code on milw0rm relies on creating a malicious torrent file which the uT user opens. On any sites without public uploads, or those that clean the uploaded torrents, there is no real problem.

Another issue mentioned on torrentfreak recently revolves around an overflow bug in extended messaging.
When an attacker sends a long enough string for version info, and the user views the peers tab, uT will crash.

1.6.x versions are not vulnerable to this attack, as they never display the version info obtained from extended messaging in the peers tab.
1.7.x are vulnerable.

Have not tested 1.8.x

1.6.x still has some life in it yet :P

oh thank god , someone finally tested it before blindly accepting some article on the net

thank you rvt :)

TankGrrl
01-19-2008, 05:57 PM
hurray for 1.6 and yay for hype... and hurrah for conspiracy theories!



Also, on a sidenote;


xxxxxxx wrote:
Raiders wrote:
What’s the thrill of shutting uTorrent down on someone?Exactly. There is none. There are no systems to be taken over using this bug. And as for some TRUE statistics regarding this ‘problem’:
Being a co-admin of a 40000+ active members torrent community I can state that of the 79% in this community that are (still) using µTorrent 1.7.5, not one, I repeat: NOT 1 complaint about a freeze of crash of their client has been seen or reported yet. 3% has already updated (thanks to the autoupdate feature) to 1.7.6
This is all one big panic for (as far as I can see) an overhyped non-issue.

Cabalo
01-20-2008, 02:27 AM
TL didn't ban older versions of uT, though they recommend updating. i hope they read rvt 's post as it is the only valuable post at this thread so far.

grimms
01-20-2008, 04:09 AM
@Cabalo

Same here.

Jaits
01-20-2008, 04:21 AM
i can also confirm rvt's claim for 1.6.x .. the new 'bug' they found doesnt affect that version....

makes u think what other fuck-ups they ve done on the 1.7 one.. if i ever used ut, now would be the time for me to switch to another client or just keep the 1.6.x ones.

u cant find that many bugs, as they've introduced, in alpha versions of software, let alone builds that are released to the general public....

fazzy07
01-20-2008, 04:37 AM
Thanks man

I install whatever bitmetv tells me to as they are no fuss people and ban for negligence

1.7.6 it is then

rvt
01-20-2008, 05:52 AM
1.6.1 (488) fine
1.6.1 (489) fine
1.6.1 (490) fine
1.7.0 (3353) bugged
1.7.1 (3360) bugged
1.7.2 (3458) bugged
1.7.3 (4470) bugged
1.7.4 (4482) bugged
1.7.5 (4602) bugged

That's in relation to the new bug that allows anyone to crash your uT.

For the old POC code from milw0rm, it only works if an attacker can get you to open a torrent file with a very large announce URL, because the announce URL contains the exploit. On private sites using passkeys, that announce URL is changed anyway so a torrent you donwload from them can never contain the exploit.
For public trackers, you can stay safe if you open the file in torrentspy before opening in uT.
http://torrentspy.sourceforge.net/
If the announce URL is not valid, opening it in torrentspy will show you that.

whitmar
01-20-2008, 03:11 PM
I appreciate rvt's fine work exposing the fallacy of so many sites' ban on every uTorrent version below 1.7.6. I'm still unclear, however, about the features or attributes of 1.6.1 that would motivate anyone to keep and risk a ban. I have used Azureus exclusively until recently, when I switched to uTorrent and the latest version was 1.7.5, so I never knew the benefits of 1.6.1. What are they?

Zeus1
01-20-2008, 03:14 PM
switch from 1.6.1 to 1.7.6

tenis69
01-20-2008, 03:19 PM
Thanks man i just upgraded from uTorrent 1.7.6.

peat moss
01-20-2008, 05:33 PM
I appreciate rvt's fine work exposing the fallacy of so many sites' ban on every uTorrent version below 1.7.6. I'm still unclear, however, about the features or attributes of 1.6.1 that would motivate anyone to keep and risk a ban. I have used Azureus exclusively until recently, when I switched to uTorrent and the latest version was 1.7.5, so I never knew the benefits of 1.6.1. What are they?


I can't tell the difference either other than I have a blue Icon instead of a green one in my system tray . :lol: