CVE-2016-7228 in Office
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, Excel 2016, Excel for Mac 2011, Excel 2016 for Mac, and Office Compatibility Pack SP3 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 • 09/30/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7228 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Microsoft Excel applications across multiple versions and platforms. This vulnerability affects Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, Excel 2016, Excel for Mac 2011, Excel 2016 for Mac, and the Office Compatibility Pack SP3, indicating a widespread impact across the Microsoft Office ecosystem. The flaw manifests when users open specially crafted Office documents that contain malicious code designed to exploit memory handling inconsistencies in the Excel application. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 vulnerability class, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management during the parsing of Office document formats, particularly when handling malformed or specially constructed spreadsheet files. Attackers can craft malicious Excel files that trigger buffer overflow conditions or other memory corruption scenarios when the vulnerable applications attempt to process these documents. The exploitation occurs during normal document opening operations, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no special privileges or user interaction beyond opening the malicious file. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves exploitation of remote services through malicious file delivery, and T1059, which covers the execution of malicious code through various system interfaces.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-7228 is severe, as successful exploitation can result in complete system compromise and arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the affected user. Organizations relying on Excel for document processing face significant risk exposure, particularly in environments where users regularly open documents from untrusted sources or external parties. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can deliver malicious payloads through email attachments, web downloads, or file sharing platforms without requiring physical access to target systems. This makes it particularly attractive to threat actors conducting large-scale phishing campaigns or targeted attacks against enterprise networks. The widespread affected versions indicate that many organizations would have been vulnerable, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of systems across different departments and user groups.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of all affected Excel versions, as Microsoft released security updates specifically addressing this memory corruption issue. Organizations should implement strict document validation policies, including the use of file type restrictions and content scanning mechanisms to prevent execution of potentially malicious Office documents. Network segmentation and user access controls can help limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. Additionally, security awareness training for end users should emphasize the importance of not opening unexpected or untrusted Office documents, particularly those received via email or downloaded from unknown sources. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect against sophisticated attack vectors that exploit memory corruption vulnerabilities in widely used applications.