Microsoft Office up to 2019 MSHTML Engine command injection

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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7.4$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus/2010 SP2/2013 SP1/2016/2019. Affected is an unknown function of the component MSHTML Engine. Such manipulation leads to input validation. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2019-0541. The attack can be launched remotely. Moreover, an exploit is present. It is advisable to implement a patch to correct this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus/2010 SP2/2013 SP1/2016/2019 (Office Suite Software) and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component MSHTML Engine. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a input validation vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-77. The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The bug was discovered 01/08/2019. The weakness was disclosed 01/08/2019 by iDefense with iDEFENSE Labs as confirmed security update guide (Website). The advisory is shared for download at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The public release has been coordinated in cooperation with the vendor. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2019-0541 since 11/26/2018. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1202. The advisory points out:

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the MSHTML engine inproperly validates input.

The exploit is available at packetstormsecurity.com. It is declared as attacked. As 0-day the estimated underground price was around $5k-$25k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 121011 (KB4480116: Windows 10 Version 1809 and Windows Server 2019 January 2019 Security Update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Windows : Microsoft Bulletins and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 110328 (Microsoft Office and Microsoft Office Services and Web Apps Security Update January 2019). This issue was added on 11/03/2021 to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog with a due date of 05/03/2022:

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (121011) and SecurityFocus (BID 106402†). The entries VDB-128717, VDB-128718, VDB-128719 and VDB-128720 are pretty similar. Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.6
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.4

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.0
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VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 8.8
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CVSSv2info

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Exploitinginfo

Class: Command injection
CWE: CWE-77 / CWE-74 / CWE-707
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Attacked
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Nessus ID: 121011
Nessus Name: KB4480116: Windows 10 Version 1809 and Windows Server 2019 January 2019 Security Update
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

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Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
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Timelineinfo

11/26/2018 🔍
01/08/2019 +43 days 🔍
01/08/2019 +0 days 🔍
01/08/2019 +0 days 🔍
01/08/2019 +0 days 🔍
01/08/2019 +0 days 🔍
01/08/2019 +0 days 🔍
01/08/2019 +0 days 🔍
02/07/2025 +2222 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com

Advisory: portal.msrc.microsoft.com
Researcher: iDefense
Organization: iDEFENSE Labs
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍
Coordinated: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2019-0541 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2019-0541
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-128732
SecurityFocus: 106402 - Microsoft Internet Explorer CVE-2019-0541 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013
See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 01/08/2019 22:10
Updated: 02/07/2025 21:41
Changes: 01/08/2019 22:10 (76), 04/26/2020 14:08 (7), 06/23/2023 09:24 (5), 04/19/2024 14:12 (25), 06/13/2024 06:17 (2), 09/09/2024 22:29 (1), 02/07/2025 21:41 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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