Privacy and Legal Notice

CIAC INFORMATION BULLETIN

S-289: Vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher

[Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-027)]

May 13, 2008 20:00 GMT
[REVISED 20 May 2008]
[REVISED 5 Jun 2008]

PROBLEM: A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Microsoft Publisher validates object header data. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted Publisher file which could be an e-mail attachment, or hosted on a specially crafted or compromised Web site.
PLATFORM: Publisher 2000
Publisher 2002
Publisher 2003 (all editions)
Publisher 2007 (all editions)
Storage Management Appliance (SMA) I, II, III
DAMAGE: Remote code execution.
SOLUTION: Upgrade to the appropriate version.

VULNERABILITY
ASSESSMENT:
The risk is MEDIUM. 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.

CVSS 2 BASE SCORE:
   TEMPORAL SCORE:
   VECTOR:
7.5
5.9
(AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:POC/RL:OF/RC:C)

LINKS:  
  CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/s-289.shtml
  ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-027.mspx
  ADDITIONAL LINK: Visit Hewlett-Packard's Subscription Service for:
HPSBST02336 SSRT0800871 rev. 1
  CVE: CVE-2008-0119

REVISION HISTORY:
05/20/2008 - revised S-288 to add a link to Hewlett-Packard's Subscription Service for
             HPSBST02336 SSRT0800871 rev. 1 for Storage Management Appliance (SMA) I, 
			 II, III.
06/05/2008 - revised S-289 to reflect changed Microsoft has made in MS08-027 where they 
             added a link to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 951208 under Known Issues 
			 in the Executive Summary.



[***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-027) *****]

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-027 – Critical

Vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution (951208)

Published: May 13, 2008 | Updated: June 4, 2008

Version: 1.1

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Publisher file. 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 impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for Microsoft Publisher 2000 Service Pack 3 and Important for supported versions of Microsoft Publisher 2002, Microsoft Publisher 2003, and Microsoft Publisher 2007. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

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. Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 951208 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when installing this security update, and recommended solutions. When currently known issues and recommended solutions pertain only to specific releases of this software, this article provides links to further articles.

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 2000 Service Pack 3

Microsoft Publisher 2000 Service Pack 3
(KB950682)

Remote Code Execution

Critical

MS08-012

Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3

Microsoft Publisher 2002 Service Pack 3
(KB950129)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-012

Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 2
(KB950213)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS08-012

Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 3
(KB950213)

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

2007 Microsoft Office System

Microsoft Publisher 2007
(KB950114)

Remote Code Execution

Important

MS07-037

2007 Microsoft Office System Service Pack 1

Microsoft Publisher 2007 Service Pack 1
(KB950114)

Remote Code Execution

Important

None

 

Vulnerability Information

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers

Affected Software Publisher Object Handler Validation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0119 Aggregate Severity Rating

Microsoft Publisher 2000 Service Pack 3

Critical
Remote Code Execution

Critical

Microsoft Publisher 2002 Service Pack 3

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 2

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 3

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Publisher 2007

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Microsoft Publisher 2007 Service Pack 1

Important
Remote Code Execution

Important

Publisher Object Handler Validation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0119

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Microsoft Publisher validates object header data. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted Publisher file which 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-2008-0119.

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 Publisher 2000 Service Pack 3

No

Microsoft Publisher 2002 Service Pack 3

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 2

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2007

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2007 Service Pack 1

Yes

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 SCCM 2007

Microsoft Publisher 2000 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

No

No

Microsoft Publisher 2002 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 2

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2003 Service Pack 3

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2007

No

No

Yes

Yes

Microsoft Publisher 2007 Service Pack 1

No

No

Yes

Yes

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 (SCCM) 2007 uses WSUS 3.0 for detection of updates. For more information about SCCM 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.

 

Security Update Deployment

Affected Software

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

* Publisher 2000
* Publisher 2002
* Publisher 2003 (all editions)
* Publisher 2004 (all editions)

 

Other Information

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers:

Cocoruder of Fortinet Security Research for reporting the Publisher Object Handler Validation Vulnerability - CVE-2008-0119.

Support

Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Microsoft Product Support Services at 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates.

International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit the International Support Web site.

Disclaimer

The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.

Revisions

V1.0 May 13, 2008: Bulletin published.

V1.1 June 4, 2008: Added a link to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 951208 under Known Issues in the Executive Summary.

 

 

 


[***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS08-027) *****]

   

CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft for the information contained in this bulletin.
DOE-CIRC can be contacted at:
    Voice:          +1 866-941-2472 (7 x 24)
    E-mail:          doecirc@doecirc.energy.gov
    World Wide Web:  http://www.doecirc.energy.gov/