Vulnerabilities > CVE-2016-0139 - Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, Excel Viewer and Word for mac

047910
CVSS 9.3 - CRITICAL
Attack vector
NETWORK
Attack complexity
MEDIUM
Privileges required
NONE
Confidentiality impact
COMPLETE
Integrity impact
COMPLETE
Availability impact
COMPLETE
network
microsoft
CWE-119
critical
nessus

Summary

Microsoft Excel 2010 SP2, Word for Mac 2011, and Excel Viewer allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Office document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability."

Vulnerable Configurations

Part Description Count
Application
Microsoft
3

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

  • Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables
    This attack pattern involves causing a buffer overflow through manipulation of environment variables. Once the attacker finds that they can modify an environment variable, they may try to overflow associated buffers. This attack leverages implicit trust often placed in environment variables.
  • Overflow Buffers
    Buffer Overflow attacks target improper or missing bounds checking on buffer operations, typically triggered by input injected by an attacker. As a consequence, an attacker is able to write past the boundaries of allocated buffer regions in memory, causing a program crash or potentially redirection of execution as per the attackers' choice.
  • Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow
    This type of attack exploits a buffer overflow vulnerability in targeted client software through injection of malicious content from a custom-built hostile service.
  • Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow
    In this attack, the idea is to cause an active filter to fail by causing an oversized transaction. An attacker may try to feed overly long input strings to the program in an attempt to overwhelm the filter (by causing a buffer overflow) and hoping that the filter does not fail securely (i.e. the user input is let into the system unfiltered).
  • MIME Conversion
    An attacker exploits a weakness in the MIME conversion routine to cause a buffer overflow and gain control over the mail server machine. The MIME system is designed to allow various different information formats to be interpreted and sent via e-mail. Attack points exist when data are converted to MIME compatible format and back.

Msbulletin

bulletin_idMS16-042
bulletin_url
date2016-04-12T00:00:00
impactRemote Code Execution
knowledgebase_id3148775
knowledgebase_url
severityCritical
titleSecurity Update for Microsoft Office

Nessus

  • NASL familyWindows : Microsoft Bulletins
    NASL idSMB_NT_MS16-042.NASL
    descriptionThe version of Microsoft Office installed on the remote Windows host is affected by multiple remote code execution vulnerabilities due to improper handling of objects in memory. A remote attacker can exploit these issues by convincing a user to open a specially crafted file in Microsoft Office, resulting in the execution of arbitrary code in the context of the current user.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id90436
    published2016-04-12
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2016-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/90436
    titleMS16-042: Security Update for Microsoft Office (3148775)
  • NASL familyMacOS X Local Security Checks
    NASL idMACOSX_MS16-042_OFFICE.NASL
    descriptionThe version of Microsoft Office installed on the remote Mac OS X host is affected by multiple remote code execution vulnerabilities due to improper handling of objects in memory. A remote attacker can exploit these issues by convincing a user to open a specially crafted file in Microsoft Office, resulting in the execution of arbitrary code in the context of the current user.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id90430
    published2016-04-12
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2016-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/90430
    titleMS16-042: Security Update for Microsoft Office (3148775) (Mac OS X)