CVE-2018-8598 — Microsoft Excel Information Disclosure Vulnerability

Executive Summary

An information disclosure vulnerability exists when Microsoft Excel improperly discloses the contents of its memory. An attacker who exploited the vulnerability could use the information to compromise the user’s computer or data. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker could craft a special document file and then convince the user to open it. An attacker must know the memory address location where the object was created. The update addresses the vulnerability by changing the way certain Excel functions handle objects in memory.

Overview

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Information Disclosure

Released Dec 11 2018

Last Updated Dec 11 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

11 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)	`4461577 (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	Maybe
Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)	`4461577 (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	Maybe
Microsoft Excel 2013 RT Service Pack 1	`4461559 (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	Maybe
Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)	`4461559 (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	Maybe
Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)	`4461559 (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	Maybe
Microsoft Excel 2016 (32-bit edition)	`4461542 (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	Maybe
Microsoft Excel 2016 (64-bit edition)	`4461542 (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	No
Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	No
Office 365 ProPlus for 32-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	No
Office 365 ProPlus for 64-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Information Disclosure	No

Patches

4 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4461577`	Security Update	Maybe
`4461559`	Security Update	Maybe
`4461542`	Security Update	Maybe
`Click to Run`	Security Update	No

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

Omair working with Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD