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Credit:
The information has been provided by iDefense Labs Security Advisories.
The original article can be found at: http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=740
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Vulnerable Systems:
* Office 2000 SP-3 fully patched as of March 2008
This issue exists in the handling of "AxesSet" records within a chart embedded in a spreadsheet. This record is typically used for setting the location and size of a set of axes on a chart. This particular record type is not included in Microsoft's official documentation for the Excel file format. However, the freely available source code for OpenOffice implements this record type.
When processing this record, Excel does not validate a value that is used as an index into the array of chart axes. By crafting an Excel spreadsheet (XLS) that contains an out-of-bounds array value, an attacker can cause memory corruption. This leads to a potentially exploitable condition.
Analysis:
Exploitation allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the currently logged-on user. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must persuade a user to open a specially crafted Excel (XLS) document.
Likely attack vectors include sending the file as an e-mail attachment or linking to the file on a website. By default, systems with Office 2000 installed will open Office documents, including Excel spreadsheet files, from websites without prompting the user. This allows attackers to exploit this vulnerability without user interaction. Later versions of Office do not open these documents automatically unless the user has chosen this behavior.
Using the Office Document Open Confirmation Tool for Office 2000 can prevent Office files on web sites from opening automatically. Use of this tool is highly recommended for users still using Office 2000.
Vendor response:
Microsoft has officially addressed this vulnerability with Security Bulletin MS08-043. For more information, consult their bulletin at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-043.mspx
CVE Information:
CVE-2008-3004
Disclosure timeline:
03/27/2008 - Initial vendor notification
03/31/2008 - Initial vendor response
08/12/2008 - Coordinated public disclosure
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