Malwarebytes is blocking VBSCRIPT in internet explorer

[FrankJ]

when attempting to use vbscript in internet explorer it is blocked.  Tried to add exclusion for previously detrected exploit but the selection screen is empty.

[Malwarebytes]

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[exile360]

Greetings,

This is part of the application hardening in the Anti-Exploit component of Malwarebytes.  To enable VBScript in IE you must open Malwarebytes and go to Settings>Protection and beneath Real-Time Protection click the Advanced Settings button below the Exploit Protection section.  Within the Anti-Exploit Settings window that opens, uncheck the box next to Disable Internet Explorer VB Scripting under Browsers in the Application Hardening tab (the first tab).

Edited March 14, 2019 by exile360

[FrankJ]

Thanks for the quick response.  I also had to uncheck Protection for Internet Explorer VB Scripting under Application Behavior Protection.

[jimhudspeth]

I have tried both of the above (exile360 & FrankJ); does not work for me.

So far, all I've found that works is to turn off exploit protection in Dashboard.

For the few times I use IE that may be good enough.

 

[exile360]

That's odd, you should be able to uncheck the following two options then click Apply as illustrated below, though it's possible that the module is remaining loaded into the IE process so you might also need to exit/restart Internet Explorer or even quit/restart Malwarebytes for it to fully take effect:

If it still doesn't work, try restarting the system to see if it works with Exploit Protection active and those two options disabled and please let us know if it does not.

Thanks

[jimhudspeth]

 

Thanks for responding.

> If it still doesn't work, try restarting the system to see if it works with Exploit Protection active and those two options disabled and please let us know if it does not.

 

I restarted the system (Windows 7), then attempted to open IE. Malwarebytes blocked it (IE).

 

I then opened Malwarebytes and confirmed that both boxes were unchecked. They were.

 

If this is the only unwanted blockage I encounter I'm not inclined to worry about it. On the rare occasions when I must use IE, I can shut off exploit protection for the duration and turn it back on afterward.

 

[exile360]

OK, thanks for the additional info.  I don't want to be a bother, but I really would like to gather some info for the Devs so that they may investigate and hopefully fix this issue in the future if you wouldn't mind and if you have the time.

If you're up to it, please open Malwarebytes and navigate to Settings>Application and under Event Log Data toggle the setting to On, then restart your system and then replicate the issue with Malwarebytes blocking IE again with the two settings still disabled and with Exploit Protection enabled then do the following:

1. Download and run the Malwarebytes Support Tool
2. Accept the EULA and click Advanced tab on the left (not Start Repair)
3. Click the Gather Logs button, and once it completes, attach the zip file it creates on your desktop to your next reply
   

If you decide to assist, please provide the ZIP file then you may (and should, so it doesn't continue creating large logs on your system) disable the Event Log Data setting in Malwarebytes again.

Thanks

[jimhudspeth]

zip file attached per request

Please let me know if,

1) this is what you want,

and

2) if you need anything else

mbst-grab-results.zip

[exile360]

Thanks, there are actually a large number of recent detections in your logs from Malwarebytes.  This makes me suspect that perhaps the blocks might actually be related to that which would explain why disabling those settings didn't help.

Please run ADWCleaner and have it remove anything it finds then restart if prompted to complete the removal process.

Once that's done, try launching IE again with Exploit Protection enabled to see if there is any difference.  If not, then I would recommend that you follow the directions in this topic and create a new topic in the malware removal area including the requested logs and info by clicking here and one of our malware removal specialists will assist you as soon as one becomes available to help you check and clean any remaining threats, and hopefully they will be able to eliminate or fix whatever it is causing this issue.

You don't have to do this of course, but I would definitely recommend it just to be safe as I wouldn't want your system to be infected or have some remaining PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) onboard without you knowing.

[jimhudspeth]

Thank you for your attention.

I ran ADWCleaner at least twice.  It found and removed threats on the first run; found nothing on a later run.

I attempted to launch IE; Malwarebytes again blocked it.

I downloaded and ran FRST, and forwarded the results to a new topic per your suggestion.

This particular machine has been running just fine. I have no reason to believe I have an infection or any other problem (except as described in the above mentioned thread). After installing Malwarebytes I have been unable to load Internet Explorer without disabling exploit protection in Dashboard.

 

[exile360]

Yes, my theory is that it's probably just some trace left behind from the PUPs you removed with Malwarebytes and ADWCleaner.  It is likely some kind of browser add-on or something and the scanners are just missing a small part of it like one or two files and/or registry entries and that may be what's causing all of this.  Either way it doesn't hurt to check so I'm glad you decided to go ahead and post in the malware removal area.  At the very least you'll have peace of mind knowing that nothing is left of those PUPs that were detected/removed before and that nothing else is present on the system.

I will go ahead and inform the Devs about this issue anyway though, just in case it is a bug with those settings in Malwarebytes so that they can investigate it.

Thanks again for the logs and info.

[Porthos]

Quote

Malwarebytes Version Information
==================================
Controllers Version:     1.0.0
Database Version:        2019.03.14.07
Update Pkg Version:      1.0.9690
Installer Version:       3.7.1

 

I would run the repair tool or just install MB over itself. Your install is corrupt.

[exile360]

Nice catch Porthos, I didn't even notice that.

[jimhudspeth]

 

Porthos & exile360,

Is the Malwarebytes install corrupt?

Do I need to uninstall / reinstall Malwarebytes?

Where can I find the referenced version information?

I've attached the “about” screen from my install.

 

[Porthos]

17 minutes ago, jimhudspeth said:

Do I need to uninstall / reinstall Malwarebytes?

Use the support tool you used earlier and run the repair feature and we will see if that fixes it.