CVE-2017-0029 in Office
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Word 2013 RT SP1, and Word 2016 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application hang) via a crafted Office document, aka "Microsoft Office Denial of Service Vulnerability."
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-0029 represents a critical denial of service flaw affecting multiple versions of Microsoft Office applications including Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Word 2013 RT SP1, and Word 2016. This vulnerability falls under the category of remote code execution and denial of service conditions that can be exploited by malicious actors to disrupt normal business operations. The flaw specifically manifests when these Office applications process specially crafted Office documents that contain malformed or maliciously constructed elements designed to trigger application instability.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves the improper handling of specific document elements within Microsoft Office's parsing and rendering engines. When a user opens or previews a maliciously crafted document, the Office application attempts to process malformed data structures that cause the application to enter an infinite loop or consume excessive system resources. This results in application hang or complete system freeze, effectively rendering the affected Office application unusable and preventing legitimate document processing activities. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be triggered through simple document opening operations, making it accessible to attackers with minimal technical expertise.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant disruption to enterprise environments where Microsoft Office applications are extensively used for business operations. Organizations may experience unexpected application crashes, system unresponsiveness, and productivity losses when employees encounter malicious documents. The vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, and file sharing platforms, making it particularly dangerous in corporate environments where users frequently exchange documents. The denial of service condition can persist until the affected application is manually terminated or the system is rebooted, leading to extended downtime and potential business interruption.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which describes improper validation of input data that leads to buffer overflows and memory corruption conditions. The flaw also demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1499, specifically the use of denial of service attacks to disrupt system availability. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying Microsoft's security patches, implementing document sanitization procedures, and deploying email filtering solutions that can detect and block suspicious Office document attachments. Network segmentation and user access controls can further reduce the attack surface and limit the potential impact of exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security awareness training should be conducted to educate users about the risks of opening unexpected document attachments and the importance of verifying document sources before processing.