source: https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/1718/info It is possible for an outside attacker to view known files on a remote system if the target user visits a website or opens an email containing a specially formed script containing the JScript function 'GetObject()' and the ActiveX object 'htmlfile'. Microsoft Internet Explorer or Outlook Express will grant full access to the DOM of a HTML document object if the following code is inserted into HTML formatted document (the 'I" in SCRIPT has been replaced with a "!"): alert("Alert Message"); a=GetObject("c:\\path\filename.ext","htmlfile"); setTimeout("alert(a.body.innerText);",2000); A malicious website operator may be able to view any known file on a remote system through this vulnerability if the website visitor is using Microsoft Internet Explorer. This vulnerability is due to a flaw in Windows Script Host (WSH), WSH does not properly verify a domain for certain requests in IE and Outlook Express. **New proof of concept code for this vulnerability can affect users who have already applied the Microsoft supplied patch for this issue. The new code uses Base64 encoding embedded within the HTML, which effectively bypasses the security provided by the patch.