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Update Protection against Microsoft Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability (MS08-043)

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Check Point Reference: CPAI-2008-124
Date Published:
Severity:
Last Updated:
Source: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-043
Industry Reference(s): CVE-2008-3006
Protection Provided by: VPN-1
  • NGX R65
  • NGX R62
  • NGX R61
  • NGX R60
VSX
  • NGX R65
Who is Vulnerable?
Microsoft Office Excel 2000 SP3
Excel 2002 SP3
Excel 2003 SP2
Excel 2003 SP3
Excel 2007
Excel 2007 SP1
Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003
Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 SP3
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1
Vulnerability Description
A remote code execution vulnerability has been identified in the way Microsoft Excel parses record values. Microsoft Excel is a popular spreadsheet application. A remote attacker could exploit this issue via a malformed Excel file. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may allow execution of arbitrary code on a target system.
Update/Patch Available
Apply patches:
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-043
Vulnerability Details
The vulnerability is due to an error in Microsoft Excel that fails to perform sufficient validation when parsing record values while loading Excel files into memory. An attacker can exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system via a specially crafted Excel file.

Protection Overview
By enabling this protection, SmartDefense will detect and block the transferring of malformed Excel files over HTTP.

Since the protection offered in this advisory may degrade performance and block access to legitimate files, users are advised to use this protection as a workaround till all systems are patched.

In order for the protection to be activated, update your VPN-1 product to the latest SmartDefense update. For information on how to update SmartDefense, go to SBP-2006-05, Protection tab and select the version of your choice.

To configure the defense, select your product from the list below and follow the related protection steps.

VPN-1 NGX R65 & R62

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the SmartDefense tab, click Application Intelligence > Content Protection > Block Microsoft Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability (MS08-043).
2. In the configuration pane, under Settings > Mode, check Active.
3. Install policy on all modules.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
SmartView Tracker will log the following entries:

Attack Name: Content Protection Violation
Attack Information: Microsoft Excel record parsing vulnerability (MS08-043)

VPN-1 NGX R61 & R60

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the SmartDefense tree, click Application Intelligence > Content Protection.
2. Select the following:

Block Microsoft Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability (MS08-043)

3. Install policy on all modules.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
SmartView Tracker will log the following entries:

Attack Name: Content Protection Violation
Attack Information: Microsoft Excel record parsing vulnerability (MS08-043)

VPN-1 VSX NGX R65

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the SmartDefense tab, click Application Intelligence > Content Protection > Block Microsoft Excel Record Parsing Vulnerability (MS08-043).
2. In the configuration pane, under Settings > Mode, check Active.
3. Install policy on all modules.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
SmartView Tracker will log the following entries:

Attack Name: Content Protection Violation
Attack Information: Microsoft Excel record parsing vulnerability (MS08-043)