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CIAC INFORMATION BULLETIN

S-349: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel

[Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-043)]

August 13, 2008 17:00 GMT
[REVISED 18 Aug 2008]
[REVISED 10 Sep 2008]

PROBLEM: There are multiple remote code execution vulnerabilities in the Excel. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by opening a specially crafted file which could be hosted on a Web site, or included as an e-mail attachment.
PLATFORM: Excel 2000
Excel 2002
Excel 2003 and Excel Viewer 2003 (all editions)
Excel 2007, Excel Viewer, and Excel Compatibility Pack (all editions)
Microsft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (all editions)
Office 2004 for Mac
Office 2008 for Mac
DAMAGE: Remote code execution.
SOLUTION: Upgrade to the appropriate version.

VULNERABILITY
ASSESSMENT:
The risk is MEDIUM. 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 privilage within a SharePoint Server.

CVSS 2 BASE SCORE:
   TEMPORAL SCORE:
   VECTOR:
7.5
6.2
(AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:F/RL:OF/RC:C)

LINKS:  
  CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/s-349.shtml
  ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-043.mspx
  CVE: CVE-2008-3004 CVE-2008-3005 CVE-2008-3006 CVE-2008-3003

REVISION HISTORY:
08/18/2008 - revised S-349 to reflect changes Microsoft has made in MS08-043 where
             they added an entry to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Related to 
			 this Security Update section to communicate that the file information 
			 in the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 954066 has been 
			 updated.
09/10/2008 - revised S-349 to reflect changes Microsoft has made in MS08-043 where
             they added a note to the Affected Software table and a FAQ entry to 
			 clarify that this update applies to servers that have Excel Services 
			 installed, such as the default configuration of Microsoft Office 
			 SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise and Microsoft Office SharePoint 
			 Server 2007 for Internet Sites. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 
			 2007 Standard does not include Excel Services.



[***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-043) *****]


Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-043 – Critical

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution (954066)

Published: August 12, 2008 | Updated: August 20, 2008

Version: 1.2

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves four privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Excel file. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an 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.

This security update is rated Critical for Microsoft Office Excel 2000 Service Pack 3 and rated Important for Excel 2002 Service Pack 3, Excel 2003 Service Pack 2, Excel 2003 Service Pack 3, Excel Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003 Service Pack 3, Excel 2007, Excel 2007 Service Pack 1, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1, Microsoft Office Excel Viewer, and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

This security update addresses these vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Microsoft Excel performs validations when opening Excel files. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately.

Known Issues. None

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, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software 

Office Suite and Other Software Component Maximum Security Impact Aggregate Severity Rating Bulletins Replaced by this Update
Microsoft Office Suites, Components, and Other Office Software        

Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3

Excel 2000 Service Pack 3 (KB951582)

Remote Code Execution

Critical

MS08-014

Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3

Excel 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB951551)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-014

Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2

Excel 2003 Service Pack 2 (KB951548)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-014

Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3

Excel 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB951548)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-014

2007 Microsoft Office System

Excel 2007 (KB951546)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-014

2007 Microsoft Office System Service Pack 1

Excel 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB951546)

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 (KB951589)

 

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-014

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB951589)

 

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer (KB955472)

 

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (KB951596)

 

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-026

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1 (KB951596)

 

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-026

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (KB953397)

 

Elevation of Privilege

Important

None

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB953397)

 

Elevation of Privilege

Important

None

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 Edition (KB953397)

 

Elevation of Privilege

Important

None

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 Edition Service Pack 1 (KB953397)

 

Elevation of Privilege

Important

None

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac (KB956343)

 

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-026

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac (KB956344)

 

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-026

Non-Affected Software 

Office and Other Software

Microsoft Works 8.0

Microsoft Works 8.5

Microsoft Works 9.0

Microsoft Works Suite 2005

Microsoft Works Suite 2006

Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003

 

Vulnerability Information

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers

Vulnerability Severity Rating and Maximum Security Impact by Affected Software
Affected Software Excel Indexing Validation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3004 Excel Index Array Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3005 Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3006 Excel Credential Caching Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3003 Aggregate Severity Rating

Microsoft Office Excel 2000 Service Pack 3

Critical
Remote Code Execution

Critical
Remote Code Execution

Critical
Remote Code Execution

None

Critical
Remote Code Execution

Microsoft Office Excel 2002 Service Pack 3

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Service Pack 2

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Service Pack 3

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office Excel 2007

None

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Elevation of Privilege

Important

Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Service Pack 1

None

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Elevation of Privilege

Important

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 Service Pack 3

None

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer

None

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

None

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1

None

None

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1

None

None

Important
Elevation of Privilege

None

Important

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

None

Important

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

 

Excel Indexing Validation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3004

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Excel processes index values when loading Excel files into memory. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by opening a specially crafted file which could be hosted on a Web site, or included as an e-mail attachment.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-3004.

Excel Index Array Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3005

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Excel processes an array index when loading Excel files into memory. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by opening a specially crafted file which could be hosted on a Web site, or included as an e-mail attachment..

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-3005.

Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3006

A 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.

In an attack against a user's local Excel client, 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.

In an attack against a SharePoint site, an attacker would first need an account on the SharePoint site with sufficient rights to upload a specially crafted Excel file and then create a web part using the file on the SharePoint site.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-3006.

Excel Credential Caching Vulnerability - CVE-2008-3003

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Excel 2007 when data connections are made to a remote data sources. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability to gain access to a secured remote data source by opening an .xlsx file that had been explicitly configured not to store credentials to the remote data source.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-3003.

Update Information

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile systems in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The Microsoft TechNet Security Web site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products.

Security updates are available from Microsoft Update, Windows Update, and Office Update. Security updates are also available from the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update."

Finally, security updates can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog. The Microsoft Update Catalog provides a searchable catalog of content made available through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, including security updates, drivers and service packs. By searching using the security bulletin number (such as, “MS07-036”), you can add all of the applicable updates to your basket (including different languages for an update), and download to the folder of your choosing. For more information about the Microsoft Update Catalog, see the Microsoft Update Catalog FAQ.

Detection and Deployment Guidance

Microsoft has provided detection and deployment guidance for this month’s security updates. This guidance will also help IT professionals understand how they can use various tools to help deploy the security update, such as Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Office Update, the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), the Office Detection Tool, Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), and the Extended Security Update Inventory Tool. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) allows administrators to scan local and remote systems for missing security updates as well as common security misconfigurations. For more information about MBSA, visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

The following table provides the MBSA detection summary for this security update.

Software MBSA 2.1

Microsoft Office Excel 2000 Service Pack 3

No

Excel 2002 Service Pack 3

Yes

Excel 2003 Service Pack 2

Yes

Excel 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Excel 2007

Yes

Excel 2007 Service Pack 1

Yes

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003

Yes

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer

Yes

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

Yes

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1

Yes

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Yes

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1

Yes

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac

No

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

No

For more information about MBSA 2.1, see MBSA 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions.

Note For customers using legacy software not supported by MBSA 2.1, Microsoft Update, and Windows Server Update Services: please visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and reference the Legacy Product Support section on how to create comprehensive security update detection with legacy tools.

Windows Server Update Services

By using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), administrators can deploy the latest critical updates and security updates for Windows 2000 operating systems and later, Office XP and later, Exchange Server 2003, and SQL Server 2000. For more information about how to deploy this security update using Windows Server Update Services, visit the Windows Server Update Services Web site.

Systems Management Server

The following table provides the SMS detection and deployment summary for this security update.

Software SMS 2.0 SMS 2003 with SUSFP SMS 2003 with ITMU Configuration Manager 2007

Microsoft Office Excel 2000 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

No

No

Excel 2002 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Excel 2003 Service Pack 2

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Excel 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Excel 2007

No

No

Yes

Yes

Excel 2007 Service Pack 1

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003

Yes

Yes

No

No

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

No

No

Microsoft Office Excel Viewer

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

No

No

Yes. See Note for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 below

Yes. See Note for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 below

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1

No

No

Yes. See Note for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 below

Yes. See Note for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 below

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac

No

No

No

No

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

No

No

No

No

For SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003, the SMS SUS Feature Pack (SUSFP), which includes the Security Update Inventory Tool (SUIT), can be used by SMS to detect security updates. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2.0.

For SMS 2003, the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates (ITMU) can be used by SMS to detect security updates that are offered by Microsoft Update and that are supported by Windows Server Update Services. For more information about the SMS 2003 ITMU, see SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates. SMS 2003 can also use the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool to detect required updates for Microsoft Office applications. For more information about the Office Inventory Tool and other scanning tools, see SMS 2003 Software Update Scanning Tools. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2003.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 uses WSUS 3.0 for detection of updates. For more information about Configuration Manager 2007 Software Update Management, visit System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

For more information about SMS, visit the SMS Web site.

For more detailed information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723: Summary list of monthly detection and deployment guidance articles.

Note for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 The detection table described above is based on single-server Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 deployments. The detection tools do not detect the applicability of the update on systems configured as part of a multiple-system SharePoint server farms. For more information about deploying updates on both stand-alone and multi server configurations, see Deploy software updates for Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Note If you have used an Administrative Installation Point (AIP) for deploying Office 2000, Office XP or Office 2003, you may not be able to deploy the update using SMS if you have updated the AIP from the original baseline. For more information, see the Office Administrative Installation Point heading in this section.

Office Administrative Installation Point

If you installed your application from a server location, the server administrator must update the server location with the administrative update and deploy that update to your system.

For supported versions of Microsoft Office 2000, see How to Create an Administrative Installation Point. For more information about how to change the source for a client system from an updated administrative installation point to an Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3), see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 932889.

Note If you plan to manage software updates centrally from an updated administrative image, you can find more information in the article Updating Office 2000 Clients from a Patched Administrative Image.

For supported versions of Microsoft Office XP, see Creating an Administrative Installation Point. For more information on how to change the source for a client system from an updated administrative installation point to an Office XP original baseline source, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 922665.

Note If you plan to manage software updates centrally from an updated administrative image, you can find more information in the article Updating Office XP Clients from a Patched Administrative Image.

For supported versions of Microsoft Office 2003, see Creating an Administrative Installation Point. For more information on how to change the source for a client computer from an updated administrative installation point to an Office 2003 original baseline source or Service Pack 2 (SP2), see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 902349.

Note If you plan to manage software updates centrally from an updated administrative image, you can find more information in the article, Distributing Office 2003 Product Upgrades.

For supported versions of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, see Create a network installation point for the 2007 Office system.

Note If you plan to manage security updates centrally, use Windows Server Update Services. For more information about how to deploy security updates for the 2007 Microsoft Office system using Windows Server Update Services, visit the Windows Server Update Services Web site.

Update Compatibility Evaluator and Application Compatibility Toolkit

Updates often write to the same files and registry settings required for your applications to run. This can trigger incompatibilities and increase the time it takes to deploy security updates. You can streamline testing and validating Windows updates against installed applications with the Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.

The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Microsoft Windows Vista, a Windows Update, a Microsoft Security Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer in your environment.

Security Update Deployment

Affected Software

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

* Excel 2000
* Excel 2002
* Excel 2003 and Excel Viewer 2003 (all editions)
* Excel 2007, Excel Viewer, and Excel Compatibility Pack (all editions)
* Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (all editions)
* Office 2004 for Mac
* Office 2008 for Mac

Other Information

Acknowledgments

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

VeriSign iDefense VCP for reporting the Excel Indexing Validation Vulnerability (CVE-2008-3004) and the Excel Index Array Vulnerability (CVE-2008-3005).

TippingPoint and the Zero Day Initiative for reporting the Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability (CVE-2008-3006).

Jeremy Funk for reporting the Excel Credential Caching Vulnerability (CVE-2008-3003).

Support

Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Microsoft Product Support Services at 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates.

International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit the International Support Web site.

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 (August 12, 2008): Bulletin published.

V1.1 (August 13, 2008): Added an entry to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Related to This Security Update section to communicate that the file information in the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 954066 has been updated. Also changed the bulletin replacement information for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1.

V1.2 (August 20, 2008): Added note to the Affected Software table and a FAQ entry to clarify that this update applies to servers that have Excel Services installed, such as the default configuration of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 For Internet Sites. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard does not include Excel Services.

 

 

 

 

 


[***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-043) *****]

   

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