Microsoft Outlook 365 Apps for Enterprise/2016/2019 memory corruption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Outlook 365 Apps for Enterprise/2016/2019. It has been rated as critical. The affected element is an unknown function. The manipulation leads to memory corruption. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2020-16947. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Outlook 365 Apps for Enterprise/2016/2019 (Groupware Software). It has been rated as critical. This issue affects an unknown function. 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. The summary by CVE is:

<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Outlook software when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the targeted user. If the targeted user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.</p> <p>Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Outlook software. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. 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 designed to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file.</p> <p>Note that where severity is indicated as Critical in the Affected Products table, the Preview Pane is an attack vector.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Outlook handles objects in memory.</p>

The weakness was published 10/13/2020 as confirmed security guidance (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2020-16947. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The advisory points out:

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Outlook software when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the System user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Outlook software. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. 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 designed to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file. Note that where severity is indicated as Critical in the Affected Products table, the Preview Pane is an attack vector. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Outlook handles objects in memory.

It is declared as proof-of-concept.

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

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Productinfo

Type

• Groupware Software

Vendor

• Microsoft

Name

• Outlook

Version

• 365 Apps for Enterprise
• 2016
• 2019

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/

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