ZDI-06-033: Microsoft Office Excel File Format DATETIME Record Parsing Vulnerability

[zdi-disclosures@xxxxxxxx]

ZDI-06-033: Microsoft Office Excel File Format DATETIME Record Parsing
            Vulnerability
http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-06-033.html
October 10, 2006

-- CVE ID:
CVE-2006-2387

-- Affected Vendor:
Microsoft

-- Affected Products:
Microsoft Office 2000 SP3
Microsoft Office XP SP3
Microsoft Office 2003 SP1 / SP2
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac
Microsoft Office v.X for Mac
Microsoft Works Suites 2004, 2005 and 2006

-- TippingPoint(TM) IPS Customer Protection:
TippingPoint IPS customers have been protected against this
vulnerability since October 10, 2006 by Digital Vaccine protection
filter ID 4746. For further product information on the TippingPoint IPS:

    http://www.tippingpoint.com 

-- Vulnerability Details:
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on
vulnerable installations of Microsoft Office. Exploitation requires
that the attacker coerce the target user into opening a malicious .XLS
file.

The specific flaw exists within the parsing of the BIFF file format
used by Microsoft Excel. During the processing of malformed DATETIME
records, user-supplied data may be insecurely referenced thereby
leading to the eventual execution of arbitrary code.


-- Vendor Response:
Microsoft has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More
details can be found at:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS06-059.mspx

-- Disclosure Timeline:
2006.06.15 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
2006.10.10 - Digital Vaccine released to TippingPoint customers
2006.10.10 - Coordinated public release of advisory

-- Credit:
This vulnerability was discovered by Manuel Santamarina Suarez.

-- About the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI):
Established by TippingPoint, a division of 3Com, The Zero Day Initiative
(ZDI) represents a best-of-breed model for rewarding security
researchers for responsibly disclosing discovered vulnerabilities.

Researchers interested in getting paid for their security research
through the ZDI can find more information and sign-up at:

    http://www.zerodayinitiative.com

The ZDI is unique in how the acquired vulnerability information is used.
3Com does not re-sell the vulnerability details or any exploit code.
Instead, upon notifying the affected product vendor, 3Com provides its
customers with zero day protection through its intrusion prevention
technology. Explicit details regarding the specifics of the
vulnerability are not exposed to any parties until an official vendor
patch is publicly available. Furthermore, with the altruistic aim of
helping to secure a broader user base, 3Com provides this vulnerability
information confidentially to security vendors (including competitors)
who have a vulnerability protection or mitigation product.