CVE-2018-0850 in Outlook
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Outlook 2007, Microsoft Outlook 2010, Microsoft Outlook 2013, Microsoft Outlook 2016, and Microsoft Office 2016 Click-to-Run allow an elevation of privilege vulnerability due to how the format of incoming message is validated, aka "Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability".
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/03/2021
The Microsoft Outlook elevation of privilege vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-0850 represents a critical security flaw affecting multiple versions of Microsoft Outlook and Office 2016 Click-to-Run installations. This vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of incoming message formats during the processing of email content, creating a pathway for malicious actors to escalate their privileges within the affected systems. The flaw specifically impacts Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and Office 2016 Click-to-Run environments, making it a widespread concern across enterprise email infrastructure. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-20 as a "Improper Input Validation" issue, where the application fails to properly sanitize and validate incoming message data before processing.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when Outlook processes incoming email messages that contain malformed or specially crafted content. Attackers can construct malicious email payloads that exploit the insufficient validation mechanisms in the email parsing and rendering components of Outlook. When these malformed messages are processed, the vulnerability allows unauthorized code execution with elevated privileges, potentially enabling attackers to gain system-level access or escalate their current user privileges. The flaw manifests during the message format validation phase, where the application's handling of certain email headers, attachments, or embedded content fails to properly sanitize inputs, creating an opportunity for privilege escalation attacks.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations relying on Microsoft Outlook for email communication. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation to potentially enable full system compromise, data exfiltration, and lateral movement within network environments. Security professionals must consider the widespread deployment of affected Outlook versions across enterprise networks, where a single compromised email could potentially lead to widespread system compromise. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal user interaction, as simply opening a malicious email message can trigger the privilege escalation mechanism, making it particularly dangerous in targeted attack scenarios.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-0850 should prioritize immediate deployment of Microsoft security updates and patches addressing the vulnerability. Organizations should implement email filtering solutions that can detect and quarantine potentially malicious email content before it reaches user inboxes. Network segmentation and privileged account protection measures can help limit the potential impact if exploitation occurs. Security teams should also consider implementing additional email security controls such as attachment blocking, URL filtering, and advanced threat protection solutions. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 for "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation" and T1566 for "Phishing" as it leverages email-based delivery methods to achieve its malicious objectives while exploiting system weaknesses to escalate privileges. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining unpatched systems within the organization's infrastructure.