Free hard drive encryption - Download a trial of SafeGuard Easy
Vulnerability: MS08-042. Malicious Word documents could allow arbitrary code execution.
Back to Latest vulnerabilities homepage
Click any highlighted term for further explanation.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Vulnerability name/brief description | MS08-042. Malicious Word documents could allow arbitrary code execution. |
| CVE/CAN name | CVE-2008-2244 |
| Vendor threat level | Important |
| SophosLabs threat level | High |
| Solution | |
| Vendor description | This security update resolves a publicly reported vulnerability in Microsoft Word. This vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Word 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. |
| SophosLabs comments | This attack requires a malicious Word document file to be opened using one of a comparatively small number of Office versions but we have already seen several samples in the wild. All samples we have seen so far attempt to drop and execute another malicious executable. |
| SophosLabs testing result | N/A |
| Currently known exploits | Sophos has seen several maliciously crafted Word documents exploiting this issue. Sophos products detects all known samples proactively as Mal/DocDrop-A since 10 June 2008. |
| First sample seen | N/A |
| Discovery date | 12 August 2008 |
| Affected software | Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2 |
| References | http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS08-042.mspx |
| Credits | N/A |
| Revisions | 13 August 2008 - published advisory |
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.
- MED 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:
Vendor-supplied Patch identifier and recommended solution, or workaround if applicable.
Vendor Description:
Summary of the cause and potential effect of the vulnerability provided by the vendor.
SophosLabs Comments:
SophosLabs' opinions and observations of the vulnerability in question.
SophosLabs Testing Result:
Details of completed lab testing, if applicable. Please note that the lab test environment may differ significantly from user environments.
Currently Known Exploits:
List of identities for known exploits, if applicable.
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.
If you need more information or guidance, then please contact technical support.
- Article ID: 43650
- Created: 13 Aug 2008
- Last updated: 21 Oct 2008
Free hard drive encryption
- Protect sensitive data from unauthorized use
- Encrypt data, hard drives and removable media
- Work uninterrupted with encryption on demand
