Microsoft Word 365 ProPlus/2016/2019 memory corruption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Microsoft Word 365 ProPlus/2016/2019. The affected element is an unknown function. Such manipulation leads to memory corruption. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2019-1205. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. Applying a patch is advised to resolve this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Word 365 ProPlus/2016/2019 (Word Processing Software). It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. The file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user. To exploit the vulnerability, a user must open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Word software. Two possible email attack scenarios exist for this vulnerability: With the first email attack scenario, an attacker could send a specially crafted email message to the user and wait for the user to click on the message. When the message renders via Microsoft Word in the Outlook Preview Pane, an attack could be triggered. With the second scenario, an attacker could attach a specially crafted file to an email, send it to a user, and convince them to open it. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) that contains a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. However, an attacker would have no way to force the user to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or other message, and then convince the user to open the specially crafted file. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Word handles files in memory. For users who view their emails in Outlook, the Preview Pane attack vector can be mitigated by disabling this feature. The following registry keys can be set to disable the Preview Pane in Outlook on Windows, either via manual editing of the registry or by modifying Group Policy. Note Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or view the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Outlook 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Options DWORD: DisableReadingPane Value: 1 Outlook 2013: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Options DWORD: DisableReadingPane Value: 1 Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, and Office 365 ProPlus: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options DWORD: DisableReadingPane Value: 1

The weakness was shared 08/13/2019 as confirmed security update guide (Website). The advisory is shared for download at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The vendor cooperated in the coordination of the public release. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2019-1205 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. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The advisory points out:

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. For example, the file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user.

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

The entry VDB-139902 is related to this item. VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

• Word Processing Software

Vendor

• Microsoft

Name

• Word

Version

• 365 ProPlus
• 2016
• 2019

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/

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VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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