Vulnerability Note VU#927889

Microsoft OLE buffer overflow

Overview

A vulnerability in a way that various programs handle OLE objects could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

I. Description

Microsoft OLE is a technology that allows applications to create and edit compound documents. Compound documents are those consisting of one format, that contain embeddings of (or links to) documents of another format. A buffer overflow error occurs during the process that OLE uses to validate data. This error results in a vulnerability that could allow a remote attacker with the ability to supply a malicious OLE object to execute code of their choosing on a vulnerable system. Any application that uses the Windows OLE component could also be vulnerable to this issue and the attack vectors may vary between systems. Microsoft states that on Exchange Server 5.0, Exchange Server 5.5, Exchange 2000 Server, and Exchange Server 2003, any unauthenticated user who could deliver a specially crafted message to the affected system could try to exploit this vulnerability.

Furthermore, Microsoft states that on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, user interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would need to persuade a user to open a file or an email message containing an attachment that contains a malicious OLE object.

II. Impact

A remote attacker could execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system. The attacker-supplied code would be executed with the privileges of the component that exposes the vulnerability.

III. Solution

Apply a patch

Microsoft has published Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-012 in response to this issue. Users are strongly encouraged to review this bulletin and apply the patches it refers to.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Updated
Microsoft Corporation	Vulnerable	8-Feb-2005

References

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms05-012.mspx

Credit

Thanks to Microsoft Security for reporting this vulnerability.

This document was written by Chad R Dougherty based upon information provided by Microsoft.

Other Information

Date Public	02/08/2005
Date First Published	02/08/2005 06:59:50 PM
Date Last Updated	02/08/2005
CERT Advisory
CVE Name	CAN-2005-0044
US-CERT Technical Alerts
Metric	20.66
Document Revision	2

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