FortiGuard Advisory (FGA-2009-27)

Microsoft Office Web Components Memory Corruption Vulnerability
2009.August.11

Summary:

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the ActiveX Controls of Microsoft Office Web Components which allows a remote attacker to compromise a system through a malicious site.

Impact:

Remote Code Execution.

Risk:

Critical.

Affected Software:

For a list of operating system and product versions affected, please see the Microsoft Security Advisory reference below.

Additional Information:

A remote attacker could craft a malicious HTML document which exploits the Internet Explorer. The vulnerability lies in the default ActiveX Control installed by the Microsoft Office. A crafted object may be created and passed to a method of this control that will cause memory corruption in the Internet Explorer. After the corruption has occured, a few specific actions will cause Internet Explorer to cause remote code execution through a call instruction.

Solutions:
  • Use the workaround solution provided by Microsoft (973472).
  • The FortiGuard Global Security Research Team released a signature "MS.Office.Web.Components.Memory.Corruption", which covers this specific vulnerability.
Fortinet customers who subscribe to Fortinet’s intrusion prevention (IPS) service should be protected against this remote code execution vulnerability. Fortinet’s IPS service is one component of FortiGuard Subscription Services, which also offer comprehensive solutions such as antivirus, Web content filtering and antispam capabilities. These services enable protection against threats on both application and network layers. FortiGuard Services are continuously updated by the FortiGuard Global Security Research Team, which enables Fortinet to deliver a combination of multi-layered security intelligence and true zero-day protection from new and emerging threats. These updates are delivered to all FortiGate, FortiMail and FortiClient products. Fortinet strictly follows responsible disclosure guidelines to ensure optimum protection during a threat's lifecycle.

References:

Acknowledgment:

Haifei Li of Fortinet's FortiGuard Global Security Research Team.

Document History:
  • July 13, 2009: Initial Documentation.
  • August 11, 2009: The Microsoft security bulletin is released.


Disclaimer:

Although Fortinet has attempted to provide accurate information in these materials, Fortinet assumes no legal responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information. More specific information is available on request from Fortinet. Please note that Fortinet's product information does not constitute or contain any guarantee, warranty or legally binding representation, unless expressly identified as such in a duly signed writing.

About Fortinet ( www.fortinet.com ):

Fortinet is the pioneer and leading provider of ASIC-accelerated unified threat management, or UTM, security systems, which are used by enterprises and service providers to increase their security while reducing total operating costs. Fortinet solutions were built from the ground up to integrate multiple levels of security protection--including firewall, antivirus, intrusion prevention, VPN, spyware prevention and anti-spam -- designed to help customers protect against network and content level threats. Leveraging a custom ASIC and unified interface, Fortinet solutions offer advanced security functionality that scales from remote office to chassis-based solutions with integrated management and reporting. Fortinet solutions have won multiple awards around the world and are the only security products that are certified in six programs by ICSA Labs: (Firewall, Antivirus, IPSec, SSL, Network IPS, and Anti-Spyware). Fortinet is privately held and based in Sunnyvale, California.