__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Vulnerability in Microsoft Word [Microsoft Security Advisory (929433)] December 6, 2006 22:00 GMT Number R-063 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: Microsoft is investigating a new report of limited “zero-day” attacks using a vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Word Viewer 2003, Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac, and Microsoft Word 2004 v. X for Mac, as well as Microsoft Works 2004, 2005, and 2006. In order for this attack to be carried out, a user must first open a malicious Word file attached to an e-mail or otherwise provided to them by an attacker. PLATFORM: Word 2000 Word 2002 Word 2003 Word Viewer 2003 Word 2004 for Mac Word 2004 v. X for Mac Works 2004, 2005, and 2006 DAMAGE: An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. SOLUTION: Microsoft encourages customers follow their Protect Your PC guidance of enabling a firewall, getting software updates and installing ant-virus software. Customers can learn more about these steps by visiting Protect Your PC Web site. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is MEDIUM. An attacker who successfully exploited this ASSESSMENT: vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/r-063.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: Microsoft Security Advisory (929433) http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/929433.mspx CVE: http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name= CVE-2006-5994 ______________________________________________________________________________ [***** Start Microsoft Security Advisory (929433) *****] Microsoft Security Advisory (929433) Vulnerability in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution Published: December 5, 2006 Top of section Microsoft is investigating a new report of limited “zero-day” attacks using a vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Word Viewer 2003, Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac, and Microsoft Word 2004 v. X for Mac, as well as Microsoft Works 2004, 2005, and 2006. In order for this attack to be carried out, a user must first open a malicious Word file attached to an e-mail or otherwise provided to them by an attacker. As a best practice, users should always exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments from both known and unknown sources. Customers in the U.S. and Canada who believe they are affected 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. Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to help protect our customers. This may include providing a security update through our monthly release process or providing an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs. General Information Overview Purpose of Advisory: To provide customers with initial notification of the publicly disclosed vulnerability. For more information see the “Workarounds and Mitigations” and “Suggested Actions” section of the security advisory. Advisory Status: Under Investigation. Recommendation: Do not open or save Word files that you receive from un-trusted or that are received unexpected from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a file. References Identification CVE Reference CVE-2006-5994 This advisory discusses the following software. Related Software Word 2000 Word 2002 Word 2003 Word Viewer 2003 Word 2004 for Mac Word 2004 v. X for Mac Works 2004, 2005, and 2006 Top of section Frequently Asked Questions What is the scope of the advisory? Microsoft is aware of a new vulnerability report affecting Word, which is a component of Microsoft Office. This vulnerability affects the software that is listed in the “Overview” section. Is this a security vulnerability that requires Microsoft to issue a security update? Microsoft is developing a security update for Word that addresses this vulnerability. What versions of Microsoft Office Word are associated with this advisory? This advisory addresses Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, Microsoft Word Viewer 2003, Word 2004 for Mac, Word 2004 v. X for Mac, and Works 2004, 2005, and 2006. Why is Microsoft Works Suite is listed in affected software? Microsoft Works Suite is listed in related software because it includes Microsoft Word. What causes the vulnerability? When a user opens a specially crafted Word file using a malformed string, it may corrupt system memory in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code. How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web site that contains a Word file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites 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 malicious Web site. Instead, an attacker would have to persuade them to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link that takes them to the attacker's site. In an e-mail attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially-crafted file to the user and by persuading the user to open the file. Top of section Mitigating Factors for Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability: • An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less affected than users who operate with administrative user rights. • In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web site that contains a Word file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites 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 malicious Web site. Instead, an attacker would have to persuade them to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link that takes them to the attacker's site. • The vulnerability cannot be exploited automatically through e-mail. For an attack to be successful a user must open an attachment that is sent in an e-mail message. • Users who have installed and are using the Office Document Open Confirmation Tool for Office 2000 will be prompted with Open, Save, or Cancel before opening a document. Top of section Workarounds for Microsoft Word Remote Code Vulnerability: Microsoft has tested the following workarounds. While these workarounds will not correct the underlying vulnerability, they help block known attack vectors. When a workaround reduces functionality, it is identified in the following section. • Do not open or save Word files that you receive from un-trusted sources or that you receive unexpectedly from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a specially crafted Word file. Top of section Suggested Actions • Protect Your PC We continue to encourage customers follow our Protect Your PC guidance of enabling a firewall, getting software updates and installing ant-virus software. Customers can learn more about these steps by visiting Protect Your PC Web site. • For more information about staying safe on the Internet, customers can visit the Microsoft Security Home Page. • Customers who believe they have been attacked should contact their local FBI office or post their complaint on the Internet Fraud Complaint Center Web site. Customers outside the U.S. should contact the national law enforcement agency in their country. All customers should apply the most recent security updates released by Microsoft to help ensure that their systems are protected from attempted exploitation. Customers who have enabled Automatic Updates will automatically receive all Windows updates. For more information about security updates, visit the Microsoft Security Web site. • We recommend that customers exercise extreme caution when they accept file transfers from both known and unknown sources. For more information about how to help protect your computer while you use MSN Messenger, visit the MSN Messenger Frequently Asked Questions Web site. Keep Windows Updated • All Windows users should apply the latest Microsoft security updates to help make sure that their computers are as protected as possible. If you are not sure whether your software is up to date, visit the Windows Update Web site, scan your computer for available updates, and install any high-priority updates that are offered to you. If you have Automatic Updates enabled, the updates are delivered to you when they are released, but you have to make sure you install them. Top of section Resources: • You can provide feedback by completing the form by visiting the following Web site. • Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Microsoft Product Support Services. For more information about available support options, see the Microsoft Help and Support Web site. • International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for international support issues, visit the International Support Web site. • The Microsoft TechNet Security Web site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products. Disclaimer: The information provided in this advisory 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 (December 5, 2006): Advisory published. • V1.1 (December 5, 2006): Advisory updated to provide additional clarity around the investigation. [***** End Microsoft Security Advisory (929433) *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft for the information contained in this bulletin. _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be contacted at: Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7x24) FAX: +1 925-423-8002 STU-III: +1 925-423-2604 E-mail: ciac@ciac.org Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/ Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these communities, please contact your agency's response team to report incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained via WWW at http://www.first.org/. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. 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