Potential Issues caused by third party MaxScript files - ALC and CRP

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello all,

Recently there have been some scattered reports of some issues which have been traced back to two third party MaxScripts.  Autodesk has investigated these issues and two articles have been created about this which I wanted to share here. If you are having any issues, please refer to these articles below:

ALC MaxScript article:

A 3rd-party MAXScript (hereafter called "ALC"), can accidentally corrupt 3ds Max software’s settings and be propagated to other MAX files (*.max) on a Windows® system if scene files containing the broken script are loaded into 3ds Max. (The original script seems to have been included with some free 3ds Max scenes that users may have downloaded from various non-Autodesk affiliated online sources.)  Although the MAXScript appears to have been written as a form of copy protection for a commercial plug-in, if affected 3ds Max scene files are distributed and re-opened, they may propagate the corruption problem to other copies of 3ds Max.  (See link for more details.)

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CRP MaxScript article:

A 3rd-party MAXScript (hereafter called "CRP"), included with some free, online 3ds Max scene files (non-Autodesk affiliated) may corrupt 3ds Max software's settings and can be propagated to other MAX files (*.max) on a PC. This can happen if the scene files are loaded into a corrupted version of 3ds Max, then re-saved. (See link for more details.)  

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If you are having any trouble with the steps in those articles, please create a new support case by doing the following:

1. Log into your Autodesk Account
2. Go to the upper right-hand corner and click Support > Contact Us > Technical Support, and pick Email.
3. From there, create and submit a new support case for this, with the subject line "ALC MAXScript issue." or "CRP MAXScript issue."  

Your case will be escalated to Technical Support and Autodesk will use best commercial efforts to work with you directly, to help you fix your 3ds Max installation, and restore your affected 3ds Max scene files (if possible). We strongly recommend that you do not open additional scene files on the affected Windows system until the repairs are complete (if possible). 

Thank you and best regards,

[rendermaster]

thanks @Alfred.DeFlaminis for the heads up

[Anonymous]

Hello @Alfred.DeFlaminis,

we have reports of this issue within our company. I would like to understand, whether this is a security issue, i.e. a malware, or is it just a bugged script? Could you elaborate on this?

Thanks in advance!

[rendermaster]

any updates on this issue? the affected files becomes unusable especially when you dont have backup of the files.

[Anonymous]

Here are the steps to fix the problem.

1. Open the file with the error.

2. Delete the hidden files - vrdematcleanbeta.mse and vrdematcleanbeta.msex in your C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsMax\<ReleaseNumber> - 64bit\<Lang>\scripts\startup folder.

3. In 3ds max - Layer Explorer, locate the layer "down_lights" and rename the helper objects "¡¡×ý×û" and "×þ×ü" to any random name.

4. Delete the renamed objects and delete the layer.

5. Save the 3ds max file.

Alternately, you can write a script to do this.

[Anonymous]

I am also curious as to if this is any sort of security issue, or just a PIA with random crashes?  

Just an FYI to anyone else that may have this issue:  I was not able to find these files through explorer.  I had to use Windirstat to see and delete the problem scripts.  Also, I used this method to get rid of the issue from files:

1:  Open blank scene

2:  delete scripts through windirstat if they appear

3:  Merge scene without helpers, bone objects, or space warps (I assume the issue lies in helpers, but inlcuded the other 2 as I didnt have them in scenes)

4:  Save as new file and close (delete old so that it doesnt accidentally get opened)

5:  Reopen scene 

6:  Once open, refresh Windirstat to confirm script files are not there.

That method has worked so far for me, so I figure it may help anyone else that runs into this issue.

[attilaszabo · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone,

The Autodesk Knowldge Network has troubleshooting articles on how to neutralize the CRP and ALC misbehaving scripts,  clean your max scene files and your 3ds Max environment of them.

- AKN CRP article

- AKN ALC Article

If you have trouble following the steps in these articles, please contact Autodesk support.

Please note that if you install 3ds Max in "C:\Program Files" (the default location, and you run it as a user with standard rights as opposed to administrator privileges, the CRP script is rendered ineffective (will not exhibit annoying behaviour, will not infect your 3ds Max environment and scene files).

I hope this helps,

Attila Szabo

[attilaszabo · Accepted solution]

The CRP and ALC scripts do not pose a security issue to your operating system, network, or intellectual property, but they do make it very hard to work with 3ds Max very hard.

-Attila

[Anonymous]

Are there any attempts made to shield 3dmax better against such destructive scripts?

[attilaszabo]

Yes, we are actively working on end-user facing solutions for mitigating the risks posed by injecting arbitrary code into 3ds Max.

-Attila

[rendermaster]

got a solution....prune_scene script

[lukuanenko]

Use only the last version of Prune Scene from official site 3DGROUND.

http://3dground.net/prod/prune-scene-2180817

In new version of Prune Scene added support for clean ALC and CRP.

[Anonymous]

Is there any other option other than submitting money to a site hosted in Russia?

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@rendermaster wrote:

got a solution....prune_scene script

---

inetnum: 91.227.52.0 - 91.227.53.255
netname: COM4S
country: RU
org: ORG-CF10-RIPE
admin-c: DER-RIPE
admin-c: OA1240-RIPE
tech-c: DER-RIPE
tech-c: OA1240-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PI
mnt-by: RIPE-NCC-END-MNT
mnt-by: MNT-RELSOFT
mnt-routes: MNT-RELSOFT
mnt-domains: MNT-RELSOFT
created: 2011-05-04T14:33:01Z
last-modified: 2017-08-09T13:19:45Z
source: RIPE # Filtered
sponsoring-org: ORG-TZ1-RIPE

organisation: ORG-CF10-RIPE
org-name: CJSC Computing Forces
org-type: OTHER
address: 107497, Irkutskaya st. 17-4, Moscow, Russia
abuse-c: AC29363-RIPE
mnt-ref: OA88731-MNT
mnt-by: TELEDISCOUNT-MNT
created: 2011-02-24T11:13:27Z
last-modified: 2016-02-15T16:34:54Z
source: RIPE # Filtered

[rendermaster]

you can use the shareware.... 

[ddesmarais]

This is exactly what our company is doing. A week later and we are still finding scenes with this. It will snowball out of control if you do not get a handle on it as it attaches itself to every new scene. 

[Anonymous]

After contacting Support, we received a free fixup that didn't require purchasing fix from a third party.

Hope this helps.

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@ddesmarais wrote:

This is exactly what our company is doing. A week later and we are still finding scenes with this. It will snowball out of control if you do not get a handle on it as it attaches itself to every new scene. 

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[hagen.deloss]

Hello @ddesmarais

Please send me a private message and I will send you the cleaner files. 

Thanks!

[denisT.MaxDoctor]

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@hagen.deloss wrote:

Hello @ddesmarais

Please send me a private message and I will send you the cleaner files. 

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Funny ... Autodesk has an understanding of the problem and knows how to solve it, but prefers to do it privately

[spacefrog_]

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Funny ... Autodesk has an understanding of the problem and knows how to solve it, but prefers to do it privately

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It might be that tools take time to develop and should only be released when they are polished enough for the public ?

[denisT.MaxDoctor]

if someone places an "infected" max file here, I will post a script to fix this file, as well as a script to prevent any feature infection (not encrypted of course)