Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-014 - Important

• 10/11/2017
• 21 minutes to read
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Security Update for Microsoft Office (4013241)

Published: March 14, 2017 | Updated: April 11, 2017

Version: 2.0

Executive Summary

This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Affected Software and Vulnerability Severity Ratings section.

The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by:

• Correcting how Office handles objects in memory
• Changing the way certain functions handle objects in memory
• Properly initializing the affected variable
• Helping to ensure that SharePoint Server properly sanitizes web requests
• Correcting how the Lync for Mac 2011 client validates certificates

For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Vulnerability Information section.

For more information about this update, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 4013241.

Affected Software and Vulnerability Severity Ratings

The following software versions or editions are affected. Versions or editions that are not listed are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, see Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

The following severity ratings assume the potential maximum impact of the vulnerability. For information regarding the likelihood, within 30 days of this security bulletin's release, of the exploitability of the vulnerability in relation to its severity rating and security impact, please see the Exploitability Index in the March bulletin summary.

Note Please see the Security Update Guide for a new approach to consuming the security update information. You can customize your views and create affected software spreadsheets, as well as download data via a restful API. For more information, please see the Security Updates Guide FAQ. As a reminder, the Security Updates Guide will be replacing security bulletins. Please see our blog post, Furthering our commitment to security updates, for more details.

Microsoft Office Software (Table 1 of 2)

*The Updates Replaced column shows only the latest update in a chain of superseded updates. For a comprehensive list of updates replaced, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog, search for the update KB number, and then view update details (updates replaced information is on the Package Details tab).

Microsoft Office Software (Table 2 of 2)

*The Updates Replaced column shows only the latest update in a chain of superseded updates. For a comprehensive list of updates replaced, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog, search for the update KB number, and then view update details (updates replaced information is on the Package Details tab).

Microsoft Office Services and Web Apps

Microsoft Server Software

Microsoft Communications Platforms and Software

Update FAQ

Do these updates contain any additional security-related changes?
Yes. In addition to the changes that are listed for the vulnerabilities described in this bulletin, this update includes defense-in-depth updates to help improve security-related features.

I have Microsoft Word 2010 installed. Why am I not being offered the 3178686 update?
The 3178686 update only applies to systems running specific configurations of Microsoft Office 2010. Some configurations will not be offered the update.

I am being offered this update for software that is not specifically indicated as being affected in the Affected Software and Vulnerability Severity Ratings table. Why am I being offered this update?
When updates address vulnerable code that exists in a component that is shared between multiple Microsoft Office products or shared between multiple versions of the same Microsoft Office product, the update is considered to be applicable to all supported products and versions that contain the vulnerable component.

For example, when an update applies to Microsoft Office 2007 products, only Microsoft Office 2007 may be specifically listed in the Affected Software table. However, the update could apply to Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft Excel 2007, Microsoft Visio 2007, Microsoft Compatibility Pack, Microsoft Excel Viewer, or any other Microsoft Office 2007 product that is not specifically listed in the Affected Software table. Furthermore, when an update applies to Microsoft Office 2010 products, only Microsoft Office 2010 may be specifically listed in the Affected Software table. However, the update could apply to Microsoft Word 2010, Microsoft Excel 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010, Microsoft Visio Viewer, or any other Microsoft Office 2010 product that is not specifically listed in the Affected Software table.

For more information on this behavior and recommended actions, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 830335. For a list of Microsoft Office products that an update may apply to, refer to the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article associated with the specific update.

Vulnerability Information

Multiple Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerabilities

Multiple remote code execution vulnerabilities exist in Microsoft Office software when the Office software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could run arbitrary code in the context of the current 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 vulnerabilities requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Office software. In an email attack scenario an attacker could exploit the vulnerabilities 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 that is designed to exploit the vulnerabilities. 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 Messenger message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file.

Note that the Preview Pane is not an attack vector for these vulnerabilities. The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by correcting how Office handles objects in memory.

The following table contains links to the standard entry for each vulnerability in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list:

Microsoft Office Information Disclosure Vulnerability – CVE-2017-0105

An information disclosure vulnerability exists when Microsoft Office software reads out of bound memory due to an uninitialized variable, which could disclose the contents of memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could view out of bound memory.

Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Office software.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by properly initializing the affected variable.

The following table contains links to the standard entry for each vulnerability in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list: