Ubisoft Uplay DRM found to include a rootkit

[Malcontent]

http://www.geek.com/articles/games/u...tkit-20120730/

It has been discovered that the Uplay system Ubisoft uses to both check a game is legal and offer up gaming achievements, multiplayer, and additional content, actually contains a rootkit.

The discovery was made by Tavis Ormandy, and information security engineer at Google, when he installed Assassin’s Creed: Revelations on his laptop. He noticed that during the installation Uplay installed a browser plug-in that allows any website to gain access to your machine through a backdoor and take control of it.

The plug-in can be classed as a rootkit because it is thought to allow continued privileged access to a machine without a user’s consent. If this was limited just to the Uplay service with regard to checking games are legal it would still be a major concern, but the fact any website could potentially use the plugin escalates the seriousness of what is happening here.

[funkydude]

LOL, seriously. DRM is the reason I've avoided all Ubisoft games for years.

Battlefield 3 is just as bad in that it requires browser plugins to function.

[Pedro]

So it doesn't run in SBIE? Let me guess, PunkBustah.

[siljaline]

Ubisoft DRM exploit opens PCs to security risk

Ubisoft rush to fix security hole exposed by plug-in

DRM explained

[EncryptedBytes]

For a moment I thought you mistyped "Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal", boy how history is an endless waltz. Granted what Ubisoft did is not the same, but just as face-palm worthy.

[x942]

I think I should take a look at this "updated" plugin and see what i can find. Something tells me fuzzing it may reveal its still insecure :/