Microsoft Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability

Overview

» IDS/IPS Signatures

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iPolicy Networks Security Advisory


Date Discovered:	08/12/2008
Severity:	High
Applications Affected:	Microsoft Office 2000 SP3 Microsoft Office XP SP3 Microsoft Office 2003 SP2 Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 Microsoft Office System 2007 Microsoft Office System 2007 SP1 Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 SP3 Microsoft Office Excel Viewer Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 SP1 Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

Synopsis

Microsoft Excel is prone to a record parsing vulnerability. This vulnerability exists in the way Excel parses record values when loading Excel files into memory. Depending on the attack scenario, the vulnerability could lead to remote code execution on a user's local Excel client, or it could lead to elevation of privilege within a SharePoint Server.

Recommended Actions

Update the patches as guided by vendor at :
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-043.mspx

Threat Analysis

Microsoft Excel does not perform sufficient validation when parsing record values when loading Excel files into memory. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by convincing a user to open a specially crafted file which could be hosted on a Web site, or included as an e-mail attachment.

An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs, view, change, delete data or create new accounts with full user rights.

References

http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2008-3006

Write-up by: Aditya Chaturvedi

Security Sites

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Greg Young, John Pescatore
Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls, 2H04, Gartner

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