Microsoft Office Excel Workbook Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Vulnerability Details
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Microsoft Office Excel. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.
The specific flaw exists within the handling of Excel workbooks. The issue results from the lack of validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on the object. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code under the context of the process.
Additional Details
Microsoft has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2017-11878
Disclosure Timeline
- 2017-08-22 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
- 2017-11-20 - Coordinated public release of advisory
Credit
Jaanus Kp
Clarified Security
