CVE-2016-3381 in Office
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, Excel 2016, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, and Excel Viewer allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-3363.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-3381 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Microsoft Excel applications across multiple versions including Excel 2007 SP3 through Excel 2016, along with the Office Compatibility Pack SP3 and Excel Viewer. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of memory corruption vulnerabilities that have been systematically catalogued under CWE-125, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions. The flaw manifests when Excel processes specially crafted documents that contain malformed data structures, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory locations beyond their intended boundaries. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows remote code execution without requiring any user interaction beyond opening the malicious file, making it a prime target for zero-day exploitation campaigns.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves improper handling of memory allocation and data parsing within Excel's document processing engine. When Excel encounters a crafted document containing maliciously constructed data sequences, the application fails to properly validate input boundaries before attempting to access memory regions. This results in a buffer overflow condition that can be leveraged to overwrite critical memory locations including return addresses and function pointers. The vulnerability is classified as a remote code execution flaw because attackers can deliver malicious documents through various vectors including email attachments, web downloads, or compromised websites, with the malicious code executing in the context of the user's privileges. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.005 which covers command and scripting interpreter, as attackers often utilize the executed code to establish further footholds within compromised systems.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-3381 extends beyond simple code execution, as it provides attackers with persistent access to affected systems and can serve as a launching point for more sophisticated attacks. Once successfully exploited, the vulnerability allows attackers to bypass typical security controls and execute arbitrary commands on the target system, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The widespread adoption of Excel across enterprise environments means that exploitation of this vulnerability could affect thousands of systems simultaneously, making it particularly attractive to threat actors. Organizations running affected versions of Microsoft Office are vulnerable to attacks that could result in data exfiltration, system persistence, and lateral movement within networks. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw places it in the high-risk category according to industry standards, as it requires minimal user interaction to achieve full system compromise. Security researchers have noted that this vulnerability is often grouped with similar memory corruption issues in Microsoft Office products, with CVE-2016-3363 being a related but distinct vulnerability that shares similar exploitation characteristics. The remediation process for this vulnerability requires immediate application of Microsoft security updates, as the flaw cannot be effectively mitigated through configuration changes or network-level controls alone.