CVE-2016-0136 in Excel
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2007 SP3, and Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Office document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/13/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical memory corruption flaw in Microsoft Excel software versions including Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, and related compatibility components. The issue stems from improper handling of malformed Office document structures during the parsing process, creating opportunities for attackers to inject malicious code into the target system. The vulnerability specifically affects the way Excel processes certain file formats and internal data structures, leading to potential buffer overflows or memory access violations that can be exploited remotely.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a maliciously crafted Office document is opened by an affected Excel version, triggering a memory corruption condition that allows arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of how improper input validation can lead to remote code execution. The attack vector leverages the document parsing engine's failure to properly validate memory boundaries when processing specially crafted Office files, potentially allowing attackers to execute malicious payloads directly within the Excel application context.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to enterprise environments where Excel documents are frequently shared and opened by multiple users. The remote execution capability means that attackers can compromise systems simply by enticing users to open malicious documents, often delivered through email attachments or compromised web content. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond individual user systems to potentially affect entire network infrastructures, especially in environments where SharePoint Server 2007 SP3 and 2010 SP2 are deployed with Excel Services enabled, as these components can be targeted independently of the desktop applications.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including deploying Microsoft security patches and updates as released through the Microsoft Security Response Center, configuring application whitelisting policies to restrict execution of untrusted Office documents, and implementing email filtering solutions to prevent delivery of potentially malicious Office attachments. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious document opening activities, while user education programs should emphasize the dangers of opening unknown Office documents. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies as outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly focusing on execution and privilege escalation techniques that attackers can leverage through such memory corruption vulnerabilities.