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CIAC INFORMATION BULLETIN

S-354: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft PowerPoint

[Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-051)]

August 13, 2008 17:00 GMT
[REVISED 18 Aug 2008]
[REVISED 10 Sep 2008]
[REVISED 30 Sep 2008]
PROBLEM: Multiple remote code execution vulnerabilities exists in the way that Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003 handles specially crafted PowerPoint files. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by creating a specially crafted PowerPoint file that could be included as an e-mail attachment, or hosted on a specially crafted or compromised Web site.
PLATFORM: PowerPoint 2000
PowerPoint 2002
PowerPoint 2003 and PowerPoint 2003 Viewer (all editions)
PowerPoint 2007 and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (all editions)
Office 2004 for Mac
DAMAGE: Remote code execution.
SOLUTION: Upgrade to the appropriate version.
VULNERABILITY
ASSESSMENT:		 The risk is MEDIUM. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system.
CVSS 2 BASE SCORE:
   TEMPORAL SCORE:
   VECTOR:		 7.5
6.2
(AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:F/RL:OF/RC:C)
LINKS:  
  CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/s-354.shtml
  ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-051.mspx
  CVE: CVE-2008-0120 CVE-2008-0121 CVE-2008-1455 
REVISION HISTORY:
08/18/2008 - revised S-354 to reflect changes Microsoft has made in MS08-051 where
             they added an entry to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Related to 
			 this Security update section to communicate that the file information in 
			 the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 949785 has been updated.
09/10/2008 - revised S-354 to reflect changes Microsoft has made in MS08-051 where
             they added a note to the Affected Software table and entries to the 
			 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Related to this Security Update section 
			 explaining that Microsoft has posted new update packages, labeled Version 
			 2, for Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 2 and Microsoft 
			 Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3 to the Microsoft Download Center. 
			 Customers who manually installed Version 1 of this update from Microsoft 
			 Download Center need to reinstall Version 2 of this update. Customers who 
			 have installed this update using Microsoft Update or Office Update do not 
			 need to reinstall. Also removed erroneous mitigations from the vulnerability 
			 information sections for Memory Allocation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0120 
			 and Memory Calculation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0121.
09/30/2008 - revised S-354 to reflect changes Microsoft has made in MS08-051 where
             they added Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2005 client and Microsoft Office 
			 Live Meeting 2007 client to the list of non-affected software.

			 


[***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-051) *****]

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-051 – Critical

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution (949785)

Published: August 12, 2008 | Updated: September 10, 2008

Version: 2.1

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves three privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office PowerPoint and Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an 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.

This security update is rated Critical for supported editions of Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 and rated Important for supported editions of Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, and Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Microsoft Office PowerPoint allocates memory when opening PowerPoint files. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately.

Known Issues. None

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Affected and Non-Affected Software

The following software have been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software

Office Suite and Other Software Component Maximum Security Impact Aggregate Severity Rating Bulletins Replaced by this Update
Microsoft Office Suites and Components        

Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 Service Pack 3
(KB949007)

Remote Code Execution

Critical

MS06-058

Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 Service Pack 3
(KB948995)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS06-058

Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 2
(KB948988)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS06-058

Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3
(KB948988)

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

2007 Microsoft Office System

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
(KB951338)

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

2007 Microsoft Office System Service Pack 1

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Service Pack 1
(KB951338)

Remote Code Execution

Important

None
Other Office Software        

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003 (KB949041)

Not Applicable

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (KB954038)

Not Applicable

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1 (KB954038)

Not Applicable

Remote Code Execution

Important

None
Microsoft Office for Mac        

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac (KB956343)

Not applicable

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-026

Non-Affected Software

Office and Other Software

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2007 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2007 Service Pack 1

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

Microsoft Works 8.0

Microsoft Works 8.5

Microsoft Works 9.0

Microsoft Works Suite 2005

Microsoft Works Suite 2006
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Vulnerability Information

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers
Affected Software Memory Allocation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0120 Memory Calculation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0121 Parsing Overflow Vulnerability - CVE-2008-1455 Aggregate Severity Rating

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 Service Pack 3

Not applicable

Not applicable

Critical
Remote Code Execution

Critical

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 Service Pack 3

Not applicable

Not applicable

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 2

Not applicable

Not applicable

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3

Not applicable

Not applicable

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

Not applicable

Not applicable

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Service Pack 1

Not applicable

Not applicable

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
Remote Code Execution

Not applicable

Important

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1

Not applicable

Not applicable

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac

Not applicable

Not applicable

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important
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Memory Allocation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0120

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003 handles specially crafted PowerPoint files. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by creating a specially crafted PowerPoint file that could be included as an e-mail attachment, or hosted on a specially crafted or compromised Web site.

If a user were logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an 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 affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-0120.

Memory Calculation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0121

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003 handles specially crafted PowerPoint files. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by creating a specially crafted PowerPoint file that could be included as an e-mail attachment, or hosted on a specially crafted or compromised Web site.

If a user were logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an 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 affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-0121.

Parsing Overflow Vulnerability - CVE-2008-1455

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Office PowerPoint handles specially crafted PowerPoint files. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by creating a specially crafted PowerPoint file that could be included as an e-mail attachment, or hosted on a specially crafted or compromised Web site.

If a user were logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an 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 affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-1455.

Update Information

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile systems in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The Microsoft TechNet Security Web site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products.

Security updates are available from Microsoft Update, Windows Update, and Office Update. Security updates are also available from the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update."

Finally, security updates can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog. The Microsoft Update Catalog provides a searchable catalog of content made available through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, including security updates, drivers and service packs. By searching using the security bulletin number (such as, “MS07-036”), you can add all of the applicable updates to your basket (including different languages for an update), and download to the folder of your choosing. For more information about the Microsoft Update Catalog, see the Microsoft Update Catalog FAQ.

Detection and Deployment Guidance

Microsoft has provided detection and deployment guidance for this month’s security updates. This guidance will also help IT professionals understand how they can use various tools to help deploy the security update, such as Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Office Update, the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), the Office Detection Tool, Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), and the Extended Security Update Inventory Tool. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) allows administrators to scan local and remote systems for missing security updates as well as common security misconfigurations. For more information about MBSA, visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

The following table provides the MBSA detection summary for this security update.

Software MBSA 2.1

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 Service Pack 3

No

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 Service Pack 3

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 2

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Service Pack 1

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003

Yes

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1

Yes

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac

No

For more information about MBSA 2.1, see MBSA 2.1 Frequently Asked Questions.

Note For customers using legacy software not supported by MBSA 2.1, Microsoft Update, and Windows Server Update Services: please visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and reference the Legacy Product Support section on how to create comprehensive security update detection with legacy tools.

Windows Server Update Services

By using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), administrators can deploy the latest critical updates and security updates for Windows 2000 operating systems and later, Office XP and later, Exchange Server 2003, and SQL Server 2000. For more information about how to deploy this security update using Windows Server Update Services, visit the Windows Server Update Services Web site.

Systems Management Server

The following table provides the SMS detection and deployment summary for this security update.

Software SMS 2.0 SMS 2003 with SUSFP SMS 2003 with ITMU Configuration Manager 2007

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

No

No

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 2

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Service Pack 1

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac

No

No

No

No

For SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003, the SMS SUS Feature Pack (SUSFP), which includes the Security Update Inventory Tool (SUIT), can be used by SMS to detect security updates. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2.0.

For SMS 2003, the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates (ITMU) can be used by SMS to detect security updates that are offered by Microsoft Update and that are supported by Windows Server Update Services. For more information about the SMS 2003 ITMU, see SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates. SMS 2003 can also use the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool to detect required updates for Microsoft Office applications. For more information about the Office Inventory Tool and other scanning tools, see SMS 2003 Software Update Scanning Tools. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2003.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 uses WSUS 3.0 for detection of updates. For more information about Configuration Manager 2007 Software Update Management, visit System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

For more information about SMS, visit the SMS Web site.

For more detailed information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723: Summary list of monthly detection and deployment guidance articles.

Note If you have used an Administrative Installation Point (AIP) for deploying Office 2000, Office XP or Office 2003, you may not be able to deploy the update using SMS if you have updated the AIP from the original baseline. For more information, see the Office Administrative Installation Point heading in this section.

Office Administrative Installation Point

If you installed your application from a server location, the server administrator must update the server location with the administrative update and deploy that update to your system.

•

For supported versions of Microsoft Office 2000, see How to Create an Administrative Installation Point. For more information about how to change the source for a client system from an updated administrative installation point to an Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3), see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 932889.

Note If you plan to manage software updates centrally from an updated administrative image, you can find more information in the article Updating Office 2000 Clients from a Patched Administrative Image.
•

For supported versions of Microsoft Office XP, see Creating an Administrative Installation Point. For more information on how to change the source for a client system from an updated administrative installation point to an Office XP original baseline source, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 922665.

Note If you plan to manage software updates centrally from an updated administrative image, you can find more information in the article Updating Office XP Clients from a Patched Administrative Image.
•

For supported versions of Microsoft Office 2003, see Creating an Administrative Installation Point. For more information on how to change the source for a client computer from an updated administrative installation point to an Office 2003 original baseline source or Service Pack 2 (SP2), see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 902349.

Note If you plan to manage software updates centrally from an updated administrative image, you can find more information in the article, Distributing Office 2003 Product Upgrades.
•

For supported versions of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, see Create a network installation point for the 2007 Office system.

Note If you plan to manage security updates centrally, use Windows Server Update Services. For more information about how to deploy security updates for the 2007 Microsoft Office system using Windows Server Update Services, visit the Windows Server Update Services Web site.

Update Compatibility Evaluator and Application Compatibility Toolkit

Updates often write to the same files and registry settings required for your applications to run. This can trigger incompatibilities and increase the time it takes to deploy security updates. You can streamline testing and validating Windows updates against installed applications with the Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.

The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Microsoft Windows Vista, a Windows Update, a Microsoft Security Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer in your environment.

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Security Update Deployment

Affected Software

For information about the specific security update for your affected software, click the appropriate link:

PowerPoint 2000

PowerPoint 2002

PowerPoint 2003 and PowerPoint 2003 Viewer (all editions)

PowerPoint 2007 and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (all editions)