Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-069 - Important
Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Could Allow Remote Code Execution (3009710)
Published: November 11, 2014
Version: 1.0
Executive Summary
This security update resolves three privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a specially crafted file is opened in an affected edition of Microsoft Office 2007. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
This security update is rated Important for supported editions of Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft Word Viewer, and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. For more information, see the Affected Software section.
The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by correcting the way that Microsoft Office parses specially crafted files. For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerabilities.
For more information about this document, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 3009710.
Affected Software
The following software has been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions either are 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.
| Microsoft Office Suite and Other Software | Component | Maximum Security Impact | Aggregate Severity Rating | Updates Replaced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Office Suites | ||||
| Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 3 | Microsoft Word 2007 Service Pack 3 (2899527) | Remote Code Execution | Important | 2883032 in MS14-061 |
| Other Microsoft Office Software | ||||
| Microsoft Word Viewer (2899553) | Not applicable | Remote Code Execution | Important | 2878304 in MS14-017 |
| Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 3 (2899526) | Not applicable | Remote Code Execution | Important | 2883031 in MS14-061 |
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 November bulletin summary.
| Vulnerability Severity Rating and Maximum Security Impact by Affected Software | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affected Software | Microsoft Office Double Delete Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CVE-2014-6333 | Microsoft Office Bad Index Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CVE-2014-6334 | Microsoft Office Invalid Pointer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CVE-2014-6335 | Aggregate Severity Rating |
| Microsoft Office Suites | ||||
| Microsoft Word 2007 Service Pack 3 | Important\ Remote Code Execution | Important \ Remote Code Execution | Important \ Remote Code Execution | Important |
| Other Microsoft Office Software | ||||
| Microsoft Word Viewer | Important \ Remote Code Execution | Important \ Remote Code Execution | Important \ Remote Code Execution | Important |
| Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 3 | Important\ Remote Code Execution | Important\ Remote Code Execution | Important \ Remote Code Execution | Important |
Microsoft Office Double Delete Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CVE-2014-6333
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the context of the current user that is caused when Microsoft Word does not properly handle objects in memory while parsing specially crafted Office files. Microsoft received information about the vulnerability through coordinated vulnerability disclosure. When this security bulletin was issued,****Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Office parses specially crafted files.
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 Office 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 view attacker controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, 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 then convince them to open the specially crafted Office file.
- An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
Workarounds
Microsoft has not identified any workarounds for this vulnerability.
FAQ
What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
Exploitation of this vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted file to the user and by convincing the user to open the file in an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website that contains a file that is used to attempt to exploit the 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 in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes them to the attacker's site, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file in an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
Microsoft Office Bad Index Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CVE-2014-6334
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the context of the current user that is caused when Microsoft Word improperly handles objects in memory while parsing specially crafted Office files. This could corrupt system memory in such a way as to allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code. Microsoft received information about these vulnerability through coordinated vulnerability disclosure. When this security bulletin was issued,****Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Office parses specially crafted files.
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 Office 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 view attacker controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, 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 then convince them to open the specially crafted Office file.
- An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
Workarounds
Microsoft has not identified any workarounds for this vulnerability.
FAQ
What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
Exploitation of this vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted file to the user and by convincing the user to open the file in an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website that contains a file that is used to attempt to exploit the 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 in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes them to the attacker's site, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file in an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
Microsoft Office Invalid Pointer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CVE-2014-6335
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the context of the local user that is caused when Microsoft Word does not properly handle objects in memory while parsing specially crafted Office files. This could corrupt system memory in such a way as to allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code. Microsoft received information about these vulnerability through coordinated vulnerability disclosure. When this security bulletin was issued,****Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Office parses specially crafted files.
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 Office 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 view attacker controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, 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 then convince them to open the specially crafted Office file.
- An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
Workarounds
Microsoft has not identified any workarounds for this vulnerability.
FAQ
What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
Exploitation of this vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted file to the user and by convincing the user to open the file in an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website that contains a file that is used to attempt to exploit the 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 in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes them to the attacker's site, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file in an affected version of Microsoft Office software.
Security Update Deployment
For Security Update Deployment information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article referenced in the Executive Summary.
Acknowledgments
Microsoft recognizes the efforts of those in the security community who help us protect customers through coordinated vulnerability disclosure. See Acknowledgments for more information.
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 (November 11, 2014): Bulletin published.
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