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Alerts
Alerts | Zero-Day Tracker | EEYEZD-20080708

Common Name:
Microsoft Word XP/2002 SP3 Exploit

Date Disclosed:
7/8/2008

Date Patched:
8/12/2008

Vendor:
Microsoft

Application:
Microsoft Word XP/2002 SP3

Description:
An unspecified vulnerability exists within Microsoft Word XP / 2002 which may possibly allow for a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code under the context of the logged in user. This vulnerability requires user interaction. In a web-based scenario (e-mail, Web site), a user would still have to open a file manually, as it would not be auto-opened.

NOTE: This information is gathered from the references below. eEye Research is currently researching the cause of the vulnerability and will update this ZDT entry as more information becomes available.

Severity:
High

Code Execution:
Yes

Impact:
Potential for arbitrary code execution under the context of the logged in user.
This client-side file-format vulnerability has high impact potential for targeted attacks against networks. These attacks could be used to gain sensitive information, install botnet software, as well as many other common exploitations. Although Word files are not auto-opened by most web browsers and e-mail clients, the severity of this vulnerability should not be overlooked.

Mitigation:
Users are urged to only open known-sender Word documents, and should utilize a host-based IPS to protect from such an attack.

Protection:
Patch:
MS08-042

Links:
Microsoft Security Advisory (953635)
CVE-2008-2244

Status:
7/8/2008 In-The-Wild Exploitation Witnessed by Microsoft