A customer support application that comes bundled with HP PCs have been found to harbour multiple security vulnerabilities.

The pre-installed software is designed to make it easy for users to keep drivers and HP software automatically updated. But flaws in ActiveX components within HP Instant Support give rise to multiple vulnerabilties that lend themselves to drive-by download malware attacks in cases where Windows users running the vulnerable software stray onto insecure or hacker controlled websites, CSIS Security Group warns.

HP Instant Support HPISDataManager.dll version 1.0.0.22 and earlier are vulnerable. Users need to upgrade to version 1.0.0.24 as explained in a security bulletin from HP here.

A CSIS advisory containing proof of concept demos of the flaws can be found here. And there's an easy to digest bit from Secunia here.

It's not the first trouble HP has had with rogue ActiveX controls in its pre-installed utilities. In December last year two ActiveX bugs created a mechanism for hackers to either thrash or inject hostile code onto HP PCs running either HP Software Update or HP Info Center, respectively.

News Source: The Register