Vulnerabilities > CVE-2013-1323 - Code Injection vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher 2003
Attack vector
NETWORK Attack complexity
MEDIUM Privileges required
NONE Confidentiality impact
COMPLETE Integrity impact
COMPLETE Availability impact
COMPLETE Summary
Microsoft Publisher 2003 SP3 does not properly handle NULL values for unspecified data items, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Publisher file, aka "Publisher Incorrect NULL Value Handling Vulnerability."
Vulnerable Configurations
| Part | Description | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Application | 1 |
Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
- Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files An attack of this type exploits a system's trust in configuration and resource files, when the executable loads the resource (such as an image file or configuration file) the attacker has modified the file to either execute malicious code directly or manipulate the target process (e.g. application server) to execute based on the malicious configuration parameters. Since systems are increasingly interrelated mashing up resources from local and remote sources the possibility of this attack occurring is high. The attack can be directed at a client system, such as causing buffer overrun through loading seemingly benign image files, as in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-028 where specially crafted JPEG files could cause a buffer overrun once loaded into the browser. Another example targets clients reading pdf files. In this case the attacker simply appends javascript to the end of a legitimate url for a pdf (http://www.gnucitizen.org/blog/danger-danger-danger/) http://path/to/pdf/file.pdf#whatever_name_you_want=javascript:your_code_here The client assumes that they are reading a pdf, but the attacker has modified the resource and loaded executable javascript into the client's browser process. The attack can also target server processes. The attacker edits the resource or configuration file, for example a web.xml file used to configure security permissions for a J2EE app server, adding role name "public" grants all users with the public role the ability to use the administration functionality. The server trusts its configuration file to be correct, but when they are manipulated, the attacker gains full control.
- Manipulating User-Controlled Variables This attack targets user controlled variables (DEBUG=1, PHP Globals, and So Forth). An attacker can override environment variables leveraging user-supplied, untrusted query variables directly used on the application server without any data sanitization. In extreme cases, the attacker can change variables controlling the business logic of the application. For instance, in languages like PHP, a number of poorly set default configurations may allow the user to override variables.
Msbulletin
| bulletin_id | MS13-042 |
| bulletin_url | |
| date | 2013-05-14T00:00:00 |
| impact | Remote Code Execution |
| knowledgebase_id | 2830397 |
| knowledgebase_url | |
| severity | Important |
| title | Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution |
Nessus
| NASL family | Windows : Microsoft Bulletins |
| NASL id | SMB_NT_MS13-042.NASL |
| description | The Publisher component of Microsoft Office installed on the remote host is affected by multiple vulnerabilities : - The application has a negative value allocation vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1316) - The application has an integer overflow vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1317) - The application has a corrupt interface pointer vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1318) - The application has a return value handling vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1319) - The application has a buffer overflow vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1320) - The application has a return value validation vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1321) - The application has an invalid range check vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1322) - The application has an incorrect NULL value handling vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1323) - The application has a signed integer vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1327) - The application has a pointer handling vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1328) - The application has a buffer underflow vulnerability. (CVE-2013-1329) A remote attacker could exploit these by tricking a user into opening a specially crafted Publisher file, resulting in remote code execution. |
| last seen | 2020-06-01 |
| modified | 2020-06-02 |
| plugin id | 66417 |
| published | 2013-05-15 |
| reporter | This script is Copyright (C) 2013-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof. |
| source | https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/66417 |
| title | MS13-042: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2830397) |
| code | |
Oval
| accepted | 2014-08-18T04:01:46.502-04:00 | ||||||||||||
| class | vulnerability | ||||||||||||
| contributors |
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| definition_extensions |
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| description | Microsoft Publisher 2003 SP3 does not properly handle NULL values for unspecified data items, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Publisher file, aka "Publisher Incorrect NULL Value Handling Vulnerability." | ||||||||||||
| family | windows | ||||||||||||
| id | oval:org.mitre.oval:def:16733 | ||||||||||||
| status | accepted | ||||||||||||
| submitted | 2013-05-17T11:17:16 | ||||||||||||
| title | Incorrect NULL value handling vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher - MS13-042 | ||||||||||||
| version | 12 |