Security Bulletin

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-044 - Important

Vulnerability in Microsoft Visio Could Allow Information Disclosure (2834692)

Published: May 14, 2013 | Updated: May 23, 2013

Version: 1.1

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Office. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure if a user opens a specially crafted Visio file. Note that this vulnerability would not allow an attacker to execute code or to elevate their user rights directly, but it could be used to produce information that could be used to try to further compromise an affected system.

This security update is rated Important for all supported editions of Microsoft Visio 2003, Microsoft Visio 2007, and Microsoft Visio 2010. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the manner in which the XML parser used by Visio resolves external entities within a specially crafted file. For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation. Customers can configure automatic updating to check online for updates from Microsoft Update by using the Microsoft Update service. Customers who have automatic updating enabled and configured to check online for updates from Microsoft Update typically will not need to take any action because this security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Customers who have not enabled automatic updating need to check for updates from Microsoft Update and install this update manually. For information about specific configuration options in automatic updating, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 294871.

For administrators and enterprise installations, or end users who want to install this security update manually, Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update at the earliest opportunity using update management software, or by checking for updates using the Microsoft Update service.

See also the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, later in this bulletin.

Knowledge Base Article

Knowledge Base Article 2834692
File information Yes
SHA1/SHA2 hashes Yes
Known issues Yes

Affected and Non-Affected Software

The following software have been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, see Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software

Office Software Maximum Security Impact Aggregate Severity Rating Updates Replaced
Microsoft Visio 2003 Service Pack 3 \ (2810062) Information Disclosure Important 2553009 in MS11-060
Microsoft Visio 2007 Service Pack 3 \ (2596595) Information Disclosure Important None
Microsoft Visio 2010 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions) \ (2810068) Information Disclosure Important 2760762 in MS13-023
Microsoft Visio 2010 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions) \ (2810068) Information Disclosure Important 2760762 in MS13-023

Non-Affected Software 

Office and Other Software
Microsoft Visio 2013
Microsoft Office 2007 Filter Pack Service Pack 3
Microsoft Office 2010 Filter Pack Service Pack 1 (32-bit version)
Microsoft Office 2010 Filter Pack Service Pack 1 (64-bit version)
Microsoft Visio Viewer 2010 Service Pack 1 (32-bit Edition)
Microsoft Visio Viewer 2010 Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition)
Microsoft Visio Viewer 2013 (32-bit Edition)
Microsoft Visio Viewer 2013 (64-bit Edition)

 

Update FAQ

I am using an older release of the software discussed in this security bulletin. What should I do? 
The affected software listed in this bulletin have been tested to determine which releases are affected. Other releases are past their support life cycle. For more information about the product lifecycle, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle website.

It should be a priority for customers who have older releases of the software to migrate to supported releases to prevent potential exposure to vulnerabilities. To determine the support lifecycle for your software release, see Select a Product for Lifecycle Information. For more information about service packs for these software releases, see Service Pack Lifecycle Support Policy.

Customers who require custom support for older software must contact their Microsoft account team representative, their Technical Account Manager, or the appropriate Microsoft partner representative for custom support options. Customers without an Alliance, Premier, or Authorized Contract can contact their local Microsoft sales office. For contact information, see the Microsoft Worldwide Information website, select the country in the Contact Information list, and then click Go to see a list of telephone numbers. When you call, ask to speak with the local Premier Support sales manager. For more information, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ.

Vulnerability Information

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers

The following severity ratings assume the potential maximum impact of the vulnerability. For information regarding the likelihood, within 30 days of this security bulletin's release, of the exploitability of the vulnerability in relation to its severity rating and security impact, please see the Exploitability Index in the May bulletin summary. For more information, see Microsoft Exploitability Index.

Affected Software XML External Entities Resolution Vulnerability - CVE-2013-1301 Aggregate Severity Rating
Microsoft Visio 2003 Service Pack 3 Important \ Information Disclosure Important
Microsoft Visio 2007 Service Pack 3 Important \ Information Disclosure Important
Microsoft Visio 2010 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions) Important \ Information Disclosure Important
Microsoft Visio 2010 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions) Important \ Information Disclosure Important

XML External Entities Resolution Vulnerability - CVE-2013-1301

An information disclosure vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Visio parses specially crafted XML files containing external entities.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2013-1301.

Mitigating Factors

Mitigation refers to a setting, common configuration, or general best-practice, existing in a default state, that could reduce the severity of exploitation of a vulnerability. The following mitigating factors may be helpful in your situation:

  • The vulnerability cannot be exploited automatically through email. For an attack to be successful, a user must open an attachment that is sent in an email message.
  • In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website that contains a specially crafted Visio file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content or advertisements could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these websites. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to visit the website, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker’s website, and convince them to open the specially crafted Visio file.

Workarounds

Workaround refers to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying vulnerability but would help block known attack vectors before you apply the update. Microsoft has tested the following workarounds and states in the discussion whether a workaround reduces functionality:

  • Do not open Office files that you receive from untrusted sources or that you receive unexpectedly from trusted sources
    Do not open Office files that you receive from untrusted sources or that you receive unexpectedly from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a specially crafted file.

FAQ

What is the scope of the vulnerability? 
This is an information disclosure vulnerability. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could read data from a file located on the target system. Note that this vulnerability would not allow an attacker to execute code or to elevate their user rights directly, but it could be used to produce information that could be used to try to further compromise the affected system.

What causes the vulnerability? 
The vulnerability is caused when Microsoft Visio improperly handles XML external entities that are resolved within other XML external entity declarations.

What is an XML External Entity? 
An XML document may consist of one or many storage units. These are called entities. They all have content and are all identified by entity name. External entities allow an XML document to refer to an external file. External entities contain either text or binary data. If they contain text, the content of the external file is inserted at the point of reference and parsed as part of the referring document.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do? 
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability would be able to read data from files on the target system. Note that this vulnerability would not allow an attacker to execute code or to elevate their user rights directly, but it could be used to produce information that could be used to try to further compromise the affected system.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? 
For an attacker to exploit this vulnerability, a user would need to open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Visio.

In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted Visio file to the user and by convincing the user to open the file.

In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a website that contains a specially crafted Visio file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit a specially crafted website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince them to visit the website, typically by getting them to click a link that takes them to the attacker's site, and then convince them to open the specially crafted Visio file.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability? 
This vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected application for any malicious action to occur. Therefore, any systems where Visio files are frequently viewed, such as workstations or terminal servers, are at the most risk from this vulnerability.

What does the update do? 
The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the manner in which the XML parser used by Visio resolves external entities within a specially crafted file.

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed? 
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through coordinated vulnerability disclosure.

When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited? 
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Update Information

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Several resources are available to help administrators deploy security updates. 

  • Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) lets administrators scan local and remote systems for missing security updates and common security misconfigurations. 
  • Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), and System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) help administrators distribute security updates. 
  • The Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit aid in streamlining the testing and validation of Windows updates against installed applications. 

For more information about these tools and guidance in deploying security updates across networks, see Security Tools for IT Pros

Security Update Deployment

Affected Software

For information about the specific security update for your affected software, click the appropriate link:

Visio 2003 (all editions)

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software.

Security update file name For Visio 2003:\ visio2003-kb2810062-fullfile-enu.exe
Installation switches See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 912203
Restart requirement In some cases, this update does not require a restart. If the required files are being used, this update will require a restart. If this behavior occurs, a message appears that advises you to restart.\ \ To help reduce the chance that a restart will be required, stop all affected services and close all applications that may use the affected files prior to installing the security update. For more information about the reasons why you may be prompted to restart, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 887012.
Removal information Use Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel.\ \ Note When you remove this update, you may be prompted to insert the Microsoft Office 2003 CD in the CD drive. Additionally, you may not have the option to uninstall the update from the Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel. There are several possible causes for this issue. For more information about the removal, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 903771.
File information See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2810062
Registry key verification Not applicable

Visio 2007 (all editions)

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software.

Security update file name For Visio 2007:\ visio2007-kb2596595-fullfile-x86-glb.exe
Installation switches See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 912203
Restart requirement In some cases, this update does not require a restart. If the required files are being used, this update will require a restart. If this behavior occurs, a message appears that advises you to restart.\ \ To help reduce the chance that a restart will be required, stop all affected services and close all applications that may use the affected files prior to installing the security update. For more information about the reasons why you may be prompted to restart, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 887012.
Removal information Use Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel.
File information See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2596595
Registry key verification Not applicable

Visio 2010 (all editions)

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software.

Security update file name For Visio 2010 (32-bit editions):\ visio2010-kb2810068-fullfile-x86-glb.exe
For Visio 2010 (64-bit editions):\ visio2010-kb2810068-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
Installation switches See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 912203
Restart requirement In some cases, this update does not require a restart. If the required files are being used, this update will require a restart. If this behavior occurs, a message appears that advises you to restart.\ \ To help reduce the chance that a restart will be required, stop all affected services and close all applications that may use the affected files prior to installing the security update. For more information about the reasons why you may be prompted to restart, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 887012.
Removal information Use Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel.
File information See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2810068
Registry key verification Not applicable

Other Information

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers:

  • Timur Yunusov of Positive Technologies for reporting the XML External Entities Resolution Vulnerability (CVE-2013-1301)

Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP)

To improve security protections for customers, Microsoft provides vulnerability information to major security software providers in advance of each monthly security update release. Security software providers can then use this vulnerability information to provide updated protections to customers via their security software or devices, such as antivirus, network-based intrusion detection systems, or host-based intrusion prevention systems. To determine whether active protections are available from security software providers, please go to the active protections websites provided by program partners, listed in Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) Partners.

Support

How to obtain help and support for this security update

Disclaimer

The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.

Revisions

  • V1.0 (May 14, 2013): Bulletin published.
  • V1.1 (May 23, 2013): Revised bulletin to announce a detection change for the Microsoft Visio 2010 (2810068) update. This is a detection change only. There were no changes to the update files. Customers who have successfully installed the update do not need to take any action.

Built at 2014-04-18T13:49:36Z-07:00