__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Vulnerability in Microsoft Excel [Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS07-044)] August 14, 2007 18:00 GMT Number R-318 [REVISED 30 Aug 2007] ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Excel handles malformed Excel files. PLATFORM: Excel 2000, 2002, 2003 Excel 2003 Viewer Office 2004 for Mac DAMAGE: Could allow remote code execution. SOLUTION: Upgrade to the appropriate version. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is MEDIUM. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability ASSESSMENT: by sending a malformed file which could be included as an e-mail attachment, or hosted on a malicious or compromised Web site. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/r-318.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-044.mspx CVE: http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name= CVE-2007-3890 ______________________________________________________________________________ REVISION HISTORY: 08/30/2007 - revised R-318 to reflect changes Microsoft has made in MS07-044 where they changed the download link display text for Office components in the Affected Software table. [***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS07-044) *****] Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-044 - Critical Vulnerability in Microsoft Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution (940965) Published: August 14, 2007 | Updated: August 29, 2007 Version: 1.1 General Information Executive Summary This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in addition to other security issues identified during the course of the investigation. These vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Excel file. 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 is a critical security update for supported editions of Microsoft Office 2000. For supported editions of Microsoft Office XP, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, this update is rated important. This update is also rated important for the Excel Viewer 2003. 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 handles specially crafted Excel files. 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. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately. Known Issues. None Top of section Affected and Non-Affected Software The software listed here 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 Affected Software Component Maximum Security Impact Aggregate Severity Rating Bulletins Replaced by This Update Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3 Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3 Remote Code Execution Critical MS07-036 Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 Remote Code Execution Important MS07-036 Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Excel Viewer 2003 Remote Code Execution Important MS07-036 Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Remote Code Execution Important MS07-036 Vulnerability Information Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers Vulnerability Severity Rating and Maximum Security Impact by Affected Software Affected Software Workspace Memory Corruption Vulnerability – CVE-2007-3890 Aggregate Severity Rating Microsoft Excel 2000 Service Pack 3 Critical Remote Code Execution Critical Microsoft Excel 2002 Service Pack 3 Important Remote Code Execution Important Microsoft Excel 2003 Service Pack 2 Important Remote Code Execution Important Microsoft Excel 2003 Viewer Important Remote Code Execution Important Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Important Remote Code Execution Important Workspace Memory Corruption Vulnerability – CVE-2007-3890 A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Excel handles malformed Excel files. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a malformed file which could be included as an e-mail attachment, or hosted on a malicious or compromised Web site. To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2007-3890. Update Information Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile computers 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 at the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security_patch." Finally, security updates can be downloaded from the Windows Update Catalog. For more information about the Windows Update Catalog, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 323166. 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), the Extended Security Update Inventory Tool, and the Enterprise Update Scan Tool (EST). 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 Web site. The following table provides the MBSA detection summary for this security update. Software MBSA 1.2.1 MBSA 2.0.1 Microsoft Excel 2000 Service Pack 3 Yes No Microsoft Excel 2002 Service Pack 3 Yes Yes Microsoft Excel 2003 Service Pack 2 Yes Yes Microsoft Excel 2003 Viewer Yes Yes Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac No No Note for Windows Vista Microsoft does not support installing MBSA 2.0.1 on computers that run Windows Vista, but you may install MBSA 2.0.1 on a supported operating system and then scan the Windows Vista-based computer remotely. For additional information about MBSA support for Windows Vista, visit the MBSA Web site. See also Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 931943: Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) support for Windows Vista. Note MBSA 1.2.1 uses an integrated version of the Office Detection Tool (ODT) which does not support remote scans of this security update. For more information about MBSA, visit the MBSA Web site. For more information about the software that Microsoft Update and MBSA 2.0 currently do not detect, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 895660. 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 to Windows 2000 and later operating systems. 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 Microsoft Excel 2000 Service Pack 3 Yes No Microsoft Excel 2002 Service Pack 3 Yes Yes Microsoft Excel 2003 Service Pack 2 Yes Yes Microsoft Excel 2003 Viewer Yes Yes Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac No No SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003 Software Update Services (SUS) Feature Pack can use MBSA 1.2.1 for detection and therefore have the same limitation that is listed earlier in this bulletin related to programs that MBSA 1.2.1 does not detect. For SMS 2.0, the SMS SUS Feature Pack, which includes the Security Update Inventory Tool (SUIT), can be used by SMS to detect security updates. SMS SUIT uses the MBSA 1.2.1 engine for detection. For more information about SUIT, visit the following Microsoft Web site. For more information about the limitations of SUIT, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 306460. The SMS SUS Feature Pack also includes the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool to detect required updates for Microsoft Office applications. 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, visit the following Microsoft Web site. SMS 2003 can also use the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool to detect required updates for Microsoft Office applications. Note for Windows Vista Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 with Service Pack 3 includes support for Windows Vista manageability. For more information about SMS, visit the SMS Web site. 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 original baseline source or 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 or Service Pack 3 (SP3), 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. If you have an Administrative Installation Point with a non- supported version of Microsoft Office 2003, 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 Updates. • 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. Security Update Deployment Affected Software For information about the specific security update for your affected software, click the appropriate section: * Excel 2000 * Excel 2002 * Excel 2003 and Excel 2003 Viewer * Office 2004 for Mac Other Information Acknowledgments Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers: • Dyon Balding of Secunia for reporting the Workspace Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2007-3890) Top of section 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. Top of section 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. Top of section Revisions • V1.0 (August 14, 2007): Bulletin published. • V1.1 (August 29, 2007): Bulletin updated to change the download link display text for Office components in the Affected Software table. Top of section [***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS07-044) *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ 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. LAST 10 CIAC BULLETINS ISSUED (Previous bulletins available from CIAC) R-308: Oracle Critical Patch Update - July 2007 R-309: Mozilla Products Security Update R-310: Gimp Security Vulnerabilities R-311: FreeType Vulnerability R-312: Apache Tomcat Vulnerability R-313: Bind Security Update R-314: gpdf Security Update R-315: Voice Vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS and Cisco Unified Communications Manager R-316: Vulnerability in Microsoft XML Core Services R-317: Vulnerability in OLE Automation