CVE-2018-8161 — Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Executive Summary

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office software when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take 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. Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Office. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) containing a specially crafted file designed to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Office handles objects in memory.

Overview

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Remote Code Execution

Released May 8 2018

Last Updated May 8 2018

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score

No EPSS score available for this CVE.

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

14 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)	`4022139 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)	`4022139 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office Web Apps 2010 Service Pack 2	`4022142 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office Web Apps Server 2013 Service Pack 1	`4018393 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016	`4018381 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)	`4022141 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)	`4022141 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 RT Service Pack 1	`4018396 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)	`4018396 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)	`4018396 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2016 (32-bit edition)	`4018383 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2016 (64-bit edition)	`4018383 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Word Automation Services on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Service Pack 2	`4022135 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Word Automation Services on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Service Pack 1	`4018388 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe

Patches

9 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4022139`	Security Update	Maybe
`4022142`	Security Update	Maybe
`4018393`	Security Update	Maybe
`4018381`	Security Update	Maybe
`4022141`	Security Update	Maybe
`4018396`	Security Update	Maybe
`4018383`	Security Update	Maybe
`4022135`	Security Update	Maybe
`4018388`	Security Update	Maybe

Known Exploits

No known exploits have been linked for this CVE yet. When available, exploit references will be sourced from public repositories and may be unverified, incomplete, or non-functional. Always review code carefully before use in any environment.

Acknowledgments

Jens Müller

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD