CVE-2014-1808 in Office
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Office 2013 Gold, SP1, RT, and RT SP1 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive token information via a web site that sends a crafted response during opening of an Office document, aka "Token Reuse Vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/19/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-1808 represents a significant security flaw in Microsoft Office 2013 across multiple product variants including Gold, SP1, RT, and RT SP1 editions. This vulnerability operates through a sophisticated token reuse mechanism that enables remote attackers to exploit the authentication process during document opening operations. The flaw specifically targets the way Office applications handle authentication tokens when processing documents retrieved from web sources, creating a pathway for unauthorized access to sensitive authentication information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a crafted web response that manipulates the token handling process within Office applications. When users open Office documents that have been loaded from web sources, the application's authentication subsystem becomes vulnerable to manipulation through specially constructed responses. This occurs because Office applications fail to properly validate or isolate authentication tokens received from external sources, allowing attackers to intercept and potentially reuse these tokens for unauthorized access. The vulnerability operates at the application layer where Office interacts with web services and authentication mechanisms, creating an attack surface that extends beyond traditional network boundaries.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can enable attackers to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to systems where Office applications are deployed. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to obtain sensitive token information that may grant access to corporate networks, cloud services, or other authenticated resources. The risk is particularly pronounced in enterprise environments where Office applications are frequently used to open documents from external sources, including email attachments, web downloads, or shared network locations. This vulnerability directly impacts the principle of least privilege and can undermine the security posture of organizations that rely on Office applications for daily operations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including disabling automatic opening of documents from untrusted web sources, implementing strict network controls to limit access to external resources, and deploying application whitelisting solutions to prevent unauthorized Office installations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses "Information Exposure," and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers can leverage stolen tokens to maintain persistent access. Microsoft released security updates addressing this vulnerability through regular patch management processes, and organizations should ensure comprehensive deployment across all affected Office 2013 installations to prevent exploitation attempts that could result in data breaches or privilege escalation attacks.