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Update Protection against Microsoft Excel Document Malformed BIFF Record Heap Overflow Vulnerability (MS09-067)

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Check Point Reference: CPAI-2009-282
Date Published:
Severity:
Last Updated:
Source: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-067
Industry Reference(s): CVE-2009-3130
Protection Provided by: Security Gateway
  • R70
VPN-1
  • NGX R65
VSX
  • NGX R65
IPS-1
  • IPS-1
  • IPS-1 NGX R65
Who is Vulnerable?
Microsoft Office Excel 2002 SP3
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
Open XML File Format Converter for Mac
Vulnerability Description
A remote code execution vulnerability has been identified in Microsoft Excel. 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 MS09-067
Vulnerability Details
The vulnerability is due to an error in Microsoft Office Excel that fails to properly parse the Excel spreadsheet file format. A remote attacker could trigger this flaw by convincing a victim to open a specially crafted Excel spreadsheet file that includes a malformed BIFF record. Successful exploitation of this issue may corrupt system memory, allowing execution of arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Protection Overview
This protection will detect and block the transferring of malformed Excel files over HTTP.

In order for the protection to be activated, update your Security Gateway/VPN-1 product to the latest IPS/SmartDefense update. For information on how to update IPS/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.

Security Gateway R70

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the IPS tab, click Protections > By Protocol > Application Intelligence > Content Protection.
2. In the right pane, double-click the Microsoft Excel Document Malformed BIFF Record Heap Overflow (MS09-067) protection.
3. In the Protection Details window, click on Edit. Choose the protection's Action (Override IPS Policy with: Prevent/Detect), and apply Additional Settings.
4. 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 document malformed BIFF record heap overflow (MS09-067)

VPN-1 NGX R65 & VPN-1 VSX NGX R65

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the SmartDefense tab, click Application Intelligence > Content Protection > Microsoft Excel Document Malformed BIFF Record Heap Overflow (MS09-067).
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 document malformed BIFF record heap overflow (MS09-067)

IPS-1 & IPS-1 NGX R65

How Can I Protect My Network?

1. In the IPS-1 Policy Manager, click on the Protection tab.
2. In the Protection tree, click Application Intelligence > Badfiles, and select the Microsoft Office Parser protection group.
3. Click Microsoft Excel Document Malformed BIFF Record Heap Overflow (MS09-067) (IPS-1 NGX R65 only).
4. In the configuration pane, under Settings, check Active.
5. Click on Install Policy.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?

Upon attack, the following entries will be logged:

Alert Name: Vulnerability in MS-Office file
Description: Microsoft Excel Document Malformed BIFF Record Heap Overflow (MS09-067)