Published:
09 August 2000
Protect yourself against future threats.
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AUSCERT External Security Bulletin Redistribution
ESB-2000.205 -- Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS00-056)
Patch Available for "Microsoft Office HTML Object Tag" Vulnerability
10 August 2000
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AusCERT Security Bulletin Summary
---------------------------------
Product: Microsoft Word 2000
Microsoft Excel 2000
Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
Vendor: Microsoft
Operating System: N/A
Platform: N/A
Impact: Denial of Service
Execute Arbitrary Code/Commands
Access Required: Remote
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Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS00-056)
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Patch Available for "Microsoft Office HTML Object Tag" Vulnerability
Originally posted: August 09, 2000
Summary
=======
Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a security
vulnerability in certain Microsoft(r) Office 2000 products. The
vulnerability could allow a user to construct a HyperText Markup
Language (HTML) file that, when read, would crash a Microsoft Office
2000 application or potentially run arbitrary or malicious code.
Frequently asked questions regarding this vulnerability and
the patch can be found at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-056.asp
Issue
=====
Microsoft Office 2000 applications are capable of reading HTML files
saved as Office documents. A malformed data object tag embedded in
one of these documents could cause the Office application to crash
and allow arbitrary code to be executed.
In order for this behavior to occur, a malicious user would need to
entice a user into opening the malformed Office document. Word 2000
users can protect themselves from opening malformed HTML documents
within Word by disabling "Confirm conversion at Open" from the
Tools-Options-General tab. In addition, Outlook users who have
applied the Outlook Security Update will be prompted before opening
web hosted or mail-borne Office documents.
Affected Software Versions
==========================
- Microsoft Word 2000
- Microsoft Excel 2000
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
(These products ship as part of the Office 2000 suite and as
stand-alone products)
Note: Previous versions of these products are not affected by this
vulnerability.
Note: Office 2000 products other than those specifically listed above
are not affected by this vulnerability.
Patch Availability
==================
- Microsoft Word 2000, Excel 2000, PowerPoint 2000:
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/2000/downloadDetails/Of9data.htm
Note: Office 2000 SR-1 is required before this patch can be applied.
Note: Additional security patches are available at the Microsoft
Download Center
More Information
================
Please see the following references for more information related to
this issue.
- Frequently Asked Questions: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS00-056,
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-056.asp
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q269880,
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/support/kb.asp?ID=269880
- Microsoft TechNet Security website,
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/default.asp
Obtaining Support on this Issue
===============================
This is a fully supported patch. Information on contacting Microsoft
Product Support Services is available at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp.
Acknowledgments
===============
Microsoft thanks Jesper M. Johansson for reporting this issue to us
and working with us to protect customers.
Revisions
=========
- August 09, 2000: Bulletin Created.
- - ----------------------------------------------------------
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED
"AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL
WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT
SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF
MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION
OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO
THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.
(c) 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of use.
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