-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 iDefense Security Advisory 07.14.09 http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/ Jul 14, 2009 I. BACKGROUND Microsoft Office Publisher is a desktop publishing application. For more information, please visit following website: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/default.aspx II. DESCRIPTION Remote exploitation of an arbitrary pointer dereference vulnerability in version 2007 of Microsoft Corp.'s Publisher could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code as the user running Publisher. This vulnerability exists in PUBCONV.DLL module in Microsoft Publisher 2007. PUBCONV.DLL module is responsible for converting legacy format Publisher files (.pub) created by older version of Publisher into the Publisher 2007 format. A programming error causes that module to dereference the arbitrary attacker-controlled value as the address of a table of function pointers. This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on the victim's system. III. ANALYSIS Exploitation of this vulnerability would allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected system within the security context of the local user running Publisher. Thus, the level of compromise would depend upon the security context of that user. An attacker would need to craft a malicious file and either host it on a website or send it as an attachment in an e-mail. The attacker would then need to persuade the local user to open it. There is no way an attacker can force exploitation. Further, this vulnerability exists only in Microsoft Publisher 2007, further minimizing the risk of exploitation. IV. DETECTION iDefense comfired PUBCONV.DLL (version 12.0.6311.5000) in Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 is vulnerable. Microsoft Office Publisher 2000, 2002 and 2003 do not appear to be affected. V. WORKAROUND Deny access to the publish converter by changing the ACLs on the file. This can be accomplished as follows: cacls \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\pubconv.dll /d everyone Note: By doing so, Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 may not open previous versions of Publisher documents. VI. VENDOR RESPONSE Microsoft has released a patch which addresses this issue. For more information, consult their advisory at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS09-030.mspx VII. CVE INFORMATION The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has assigned the name CVE-2009-0566 to this issue. This is a candidate for inclusion in the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org/), which standardizes names for security problems. VIII. DISCLOSURE TIMELINE 01/08/2009 - Initial Contact 01/09/2009 - PoC Requested 01/09/2009 - PoC Sent 01/09/2009 - Vendor Case Number Assigned 02/20/2009 - Vendor Status Update 07/14/2009 - Coordinated Public Disclosure IX. CREDIT This vulnerability was reported to iDefense by Lionel d'Hauenens (LaboSkopia) ( www.laboskopia.com ) Get paid for vulnerability research http://labs.idefense.com/methodology/vulnerability/vcp.php Free tools, research and upcoming events http://labs.idefense.com/ X. LEGAL NOTICES Copyright © 2009 iDefense, Inc. Permission is granted for the redistribution of this alert electronically. It may not be edited in any way without the express written consent of iDefense. If you wish to reprint the whole or any part of this alert in any other medium other than electronically, please e-mail customerservice@xxxxxxxxxxxx for permission. Disclaimer: The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate at the time of publishing based on currently available information. Use of the information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are no warranties with regard to this information. Neither the author nor the publisher accepts any liability for any direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on, this information. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFKXjzzbjs6HoxIfBkRAhsLAJoC6wa9Q3D/ALSRnp+bGRD8jMq4fwCg8xim 1AnArhpsaXqAI7Eud05AHS4= =hx57 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
