Third exploit for Word released
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(InfoWorld) - Hackers have released attack code that exploits a critical vulnerability in Microsoft's Word software -- the thirdÂ such bugÂ to be disclosed in the past week. The proof of concept code was posted Tuesday on the Milw0rm.com Web site, making it widely available to the hacking community. It exploits a previously unreported bug in Word. Like the other recent Word bugs disclosed this past week, it could be used by attackers to run unauthorized software on a victim's computer, said David Marcus, security research and communications manager with McAfee Inc.'s Avert Labs Attackers have been using these Word exploits in extremely targeted attacks, where a small number of victims are sent an e-mail with a maliciously encoded Word document attached. The hackers useÂ social engineeringÂ techniques to try to trick the victim into opening the dangerous attachment. For example, in a recent Word attack, first reported Sunday, the malicious e-mail "was sent to a very high-profile company, directly to three people at the company," Marcus said. Microsoft is investigating reports of this latest Word bug, a spokesman for the company's public relations agency said. Though they are not being widely exploited, the unpatched Word vulnerabilities are causing some enterprises concern. At the Port of Seattle, for example, users are being cautioned and e-mail with Word attachments is getting a little more scrutiny, said Ernie Hayden, chief information security manager with the port. "We've done some blocking on our e-mail, and we've had dialogue with people with respect to what our expectations are," he said. Attacks on Microsoft's Office software have been on the rise for months now, said Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer with security vendor eEye Digital Security Inc. Office vulnerabilities were once released "on a monthly basis," he said. "Now we're at the point were it's almost daily." Still, publishing attack code ultimately works contrary to the interests of the bad guys, he added. "It's kind of disruptive, and it creates a panic," he said. "But all it does is make the industry focus and come up with a resolution."
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Sample code that exploits a yet-to-be-fixed Windows flaw is circulating. Microsoft plans to deal with it on the next Patch Tuesday.
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Double trouble Microsoft has warned of another unpatched vulnerability in Word. The unspecified code execution flaw means hackers can load malware onto targeted machines providing users are tricked into opening maliciously constructed Word files.â¦
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As often is the case over holiday breaks, three new vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system were discovered over the weekend.
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A tremendous amount of confusion has arisen in recent days over whether security firm Symantec actually discovered a new vulnerability in Microsoft Word three days ago, or simply uncovered a new exploit of an existing problem that Microsoft already acknowledged. In what appears to be an effort at backtracking, Symantec today appears to be saying both simultaneously.
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A new program claims to detect copy theft in any text document.
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Hackers are already exploiting a new vulnerability found in Microsoft's Word and Office applications, although the attacks appear to be limited.
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The giant has released a patch so that Windows doesn&#39;t let in hackers when it handles JPEG graphics formats. The flaw means that attackers can create an image file that will automatically run dodgy code, dump
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(InfoWorld) - There's now one more reason to be careful about opening Microsoft Office attachments. Microsoft warned Tuesday of a new, unpatched memory corruption error in its word-processing software, and said that it was investigating reports of "limited" attacks that exploit the problem. The bug can be exploited by adding a string of characters in a Word file that can corrupt the PC's memory and allow the attacker to run unauthorized software on the system, Microsoft wrote in a security advisory . The bug affects many versions of the software, including Word 2000, 2002, and 2003, the Word Viewer 2003 and several versions of Microsoft Works. It is rated 'critical' by the FrSIRT Web site, which compiles a list of software vulnerabilities. As automatic security updates have become commonplace, attackers have focused more on developing attacks that leverage this kind of unpatched hole in the software, sometimes called 0day attacks. This trend has forced Microsoft to produce a growing number of software updates in recent months. In particular, hackers turned their attention to Microsoft's Office products, which some researchers consider to be a more fruitful source of bugs than the Windows operating system. "Cyber criminals know that 0days are very vulnerable and can be used to make lots of money," said Cesar Cerrudo, chief executive officer of security research firm Argeniss, in Parana, Argentina. These vulnerabilities can be exploited to install spyware or dangerous Trojan horse programs, or to add the victim's computer to a network of compromised PCs, called a botnet, which can then be used to send out spam or attack other systems, he said. Microsoft's next set of security updates is due to be released on December 12.
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Rare, out-of-cycle Windows patch fixes one flaw, but attacks through other known, yet-to-be-plugged holes continue.
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Microsoft adds another product to the list of those vulnerable to a critical bug patched nearly three weeks ago.
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AS WE PREDICTED last week after a weekend free time, hackers have come up with a method of exploiting the latest hole in Microsoft Windows.
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PDF attack prompts round-the-clock patch fest Escalating attacks exploiting a serious weakness in PDF files have prompted Microsoft to issue an all-hands-on-deck call to fix a vulnerability that lurks in the bowels of Windows XP.â¦
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In brief Exploit circulating for unpatched vuln
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(InfoWorld) - One day after patching a widely exploited flawÂ in its Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft Corp. has a new bug to worry about, this time in PowerPoint. Attackers have been exploiting a newly discovered bug in Microsoft's Office presentation software in extremely targeted attacks, McAfee Inc. reported Wednesday. Researchers were made aware of the attacks when a customer submitted two different malicious PowerPoint files, both of which exploited the same vulnerability, said Craig Schmugar, a virus researcher at McAfee. Both files installed malicious remote access Trojan software that then attempted to connect to an outside Web server, he said. Though McAfee is not releasing technical details of the exploit, the security vendor says that it has confirmed that the attack works on three versions of Office running on the Windows 2000 operating system: Office 2000, Office XP, and Office 2003. Other platforms and other Office applications may also be affected, but McAfee has not yet had time to complete its testing, Schmugar said. Schmugar has blogged about the issueÂ  . Microsoft issued a security advisory on the matter Wednesday, saying that the issue affects users of Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Office 2003, and Microsoft Office XP, as well as Microsoft PowerPoint 2004 for Mac. Microsoft's advisory can beÂ found here. As a workaround, Microsoft suggests that users open and view files using PowerPoint Viewer 2003. This software "does not contain the vulnerable code and is not susceptible to this attack," the advisory states. The PowerPoint viewer can beÂ downloaded here. Microsoft and other security vendors, including Symantec Corp. and McAfee, have added signatures to their security products so that they can detect this malicious code. Over the past few months, attackers have focused on Office, exploiting a number of undisclosed Office bugs in extremely targeted attacks, often on government agencies or contractors. These attacks usually take the form of an e-mail that has a malicious Office document attached and is sent to a small number of target victims This latest PowerPoint attack fits that pattern and was sent to a defense contractor, Schmugar said. He declined to provide further details on the intended victim. Because the attack has been extremely limited in scope it is considered to be a low risk for most users, Schmugar said. News of the attack comes the day afterÂ Microsoft issued an emergency patch for a widely exploited bug that affected the VML (Vector Markup Language) rendering engine used by Internet Explorer and Outlook. Hackers are exploiting this critical flaw in the browser via mass e-mail and on thousands of Web sites, security experts said. Microsoft's next set of security patches will be released Oct. 10. The software vendor did not say whether it plans to patch this latest PowerPoint flaw.
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Less than zero-day September's Patch Tuesday leaves users waiting for a fix to defend against a zero-day exploit in Microsoft Word, targeted by malware authors over recent days.â¦