Vulnerability: MS10-023 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Office Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution (981160)

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	Details
Vulnerability name/brief description	Vulnerability in Microsoft Office Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution (981160)
CVE/CAN name	CVE-2010-0479
Vendor threat level	Important
SophosLabs threat level	Low
Solution	MS10-023
Vendor description	This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Office Publisher that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Publisher file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rigts.
SophosLabs comments	This vulnerability exists in the file parsing code when Microsoft Office Publisher tries to open specially crafted Publisher files. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code as the logged-on user. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the 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. As this vulnerability is not publicly disclosed and is not prevalent, Sophos has classified this vulnerability as low risk.
SophosLabs testing result	N/A
Currently known exploits	At the time of writing SophosLabs have not observed any malware attempting to exploit this vulnerability. Should this situation change samples will be analyzed and we will take action as necessary.
First sample seen	N/A
Discovery date	13th April 2010
Affected software	Microsoft Office Publisher 2002 Service Pack 3 Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 Service Pack 3 Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 Service Pack 1 Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 Service Pack 2
References	http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS10-023.mspx http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=cve-2010-0479
Credits	MAPP
Revisions	13th April 2010 - Initial analysis written

Explanation of terms

Vulnerability Name/Brief Description:
Vendor identifier plus a brief description of the type of attack.

CVE/CAN Name:
Currently assigned CVE name. If a CVE name doesn't exist the CAN name will be used until a CVE has been assigned.

Vendor Threat Level:
Threat level assigned by the vendor

SophosLabs Threat Level:
Threat level assigned by SophosLabs

• LOW RISK - There is little chance of this vulnerability being actively exploited by malware.
• MEDIUM RISK - There is a possibility of this vulnerability being actively exploited by malware.
• HIGH RISK - There is a strong possibility of this vulnerability being actively exploited by malware.
• CRITICAL RISK - This vulnerability will almost certainly be actively exploited by malware.

Solution:
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Vendor Description:
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SophosLabs Comments:
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SophosLabs Testing Result:
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Currently Known Exploits:
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First Sample Seen:
Date of the first sample seen by SophosLabs.

Discovery Date:
Date of the earliest known publically disclosed advisory.

Affected Software:
Vulnerable platforms and software versions.