CVE-2010-3334 in Office
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP3, Office 2007 SP2, Office 2010, Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac, Office for Mac 2011, and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an Office document containing an Office Art Drawing record with crafted msofbtSp records and unspecified flags, which triggers memory corruption, aka "Office Art Drawing Records Vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/29/2021
This vulnerability represents a critical memory corruption flaw in Microsoft Office applications that affects multiple versions across different platforms including Office XP SP3 through Office 2010, along with various Mac versions. The vulnerability specifically manifests when processing Office Art Drawing records within Office documents, particularly when encountering crafted msofbtSp records with unspecified flags that trigger memory corruption conditions. The flaw exists in the way Office applications parse and handle these specific drawing record structures, creating opportunities for remote code execution through specially crafted malicious documents. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 category of Stack-based Buffer Overflow, though the specific implementation involves memory corruption through improper handling of structured data within the Office Art drawing format. The attack vector requires remote delivery of a malicious Office document, making it particularly dangerous for email-based attacks and web-based delivery methods.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when Office applications attempt to parse Office Art Drawing records containing maliciously crafted msofbtSp records with specific flag combinations that cause the application to write beyond allocated memory boundaries. This memory corruption can be leveraged by attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the victim user, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects the parsing logic within Office's document processing engine, specifically in how it handles structured drawing records that define shapes and graphics within documents. The unspecified flags within the msofbtSp records appear to trigger specific code paths that lead to buffer overflows or other memory corruption conditions, allowing attackers to manipulate the execution flow of the Office application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple Microsoft Office versions and platforms, creating a broad attack surface that affects both Windows and Mac environments. Organizations using these Office versions are particularly vulnerable to targeted attacks where malicious documents are delivered via email attachments or web downloads, potentially compromising user systems and enabling further lateral movement within networks. The vulnerability's remote execution capability makes it especially dangerous in enterprise environments where users frequently open documents from external sources, and the widespread adoption of affected Office versions increases the potential attack surface significantly. Security researchers have noted that exploitation of this vulnerability often requires social engineering to convince users to open malicious documents, though the underlying flaw remains a critical security risk regardless of the delivery method.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate deployment of Microsoft security patches and updates, as well as implementing email filtering and document validation policies to prevent potentially malicious Office documents from reaching end users. Organizations should consider implementing application whitelisting controls to restrict execution of Office applications from untrusted sources, and establish network monitoring to detect suspicious document processing activities. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1204.002 for "User Execution: Malicious File" indicates that user interaction is required for exploitation, making user education and awareness training critical components of the defense strategy. Additionally, network segmentation and sandboxing of document processing environments can help contain potential exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments should verify that all affected Office installations have been properly patched and updated to prevent successful exploitation attempts.