CVE-2016-7298 in Office
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Office 2007 SP3, Office 2010 SP2, Word Viewer, Office for Mac 2011, and Office 2016 for Mac allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2022
The Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7298 represents a critical security flaw affecting multiple versions of Microsoft Office software across different platforms. This vulnerability specifically targets Microsoft Office 2007 SP3, Office 2010 SP2, Word Viewer, Office for Mac 2011, and Office 2016 for Mac, creating a widespread attack surface that impacts organizations relying on these productivity suites. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of specially crafted documents that can trigger memory corruption issues during document processing, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service conditions. The flaw exists in the way Microsoft Office applications parse and process certain document elements, particularly those related to memory management and object handling within the application's core processing engines.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a malicious document is opened by an affected Microsoft Office application, triggering a memory corruption condition that can be leveraged by threat actors to gain unauthorized access to systems. This memory corruption typically manifests through buffer overflow conditions or heap corruption scenarios where attacker-controlled data is processed without proper validation or bounds checking. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered through social engineering campaigns where users are tricked into opening seemingly legitimate documents that contain malicious payloads. Attackers can craft documents containing specially formatted elements that, when processed by vulnerable Office versions, cause the application to allocate memory incorrectly or access memory locations outside of proper boundaries, leading to potential code execution or system instability. This type of vulnerability is classified as a memory safety issue and aligns with CWE-121, which addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-7298 extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable complete system compromise when exploited successfully. Organizations running affected Office versions face significant risk as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to install malware, escalate privileges, or establish persistent access to compromised systems. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not need physical access to target systems, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where users frequently open documents from external sources or email attachments. The memory corruption can manifest as application crashes, system instability, or more severe conditions where attackers can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the vulnerable Office application. This vulnerability directly maps to several ATT&CK techniques including initial access through malicious documents, execution through office applications, and privilege escalation when the exploited application runs with elevated permissions. The attack surface is further expanded by the widespread adoption of Microsoft Office across enterprise environments, making successful exploitation potentially devastating for organizations that do not maintain up-to-date security patches.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-7298 should focus on immediate patching of affected systems, implementing strict document handling policies, and deploying additional security controls to prevent exploitation. Microsoft released security updates that address this vulnerability, and organizations must prioritize deployment of these patches across all affected Office versions to eliminate the risk. Additional protective measures include implementing email filtering solutions that can identify and quarantine suspicious documents, disabling automatic document opening features, and employing application control mechanisms that restrict execution of untrusted documents. Network-based protections such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help monitor for exploitation attempts, while user education programs should emphasize the importance of verifying document sources before opening attachments. Organizations should also consider implementing sandboxing technologies for document processing and establishing strict protocols for handling external documents. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and demonstrates how memory corruption vulnerabilities can serve as primary attack vectors in modern cyber threat landscapes, making comprehensive vulnerability management and security awareness training essential components of any effective cybersecurity strategy.