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Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-004 - Important

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975416)

Published:

Version: 1.0

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves six privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office PowerPoint. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Important for supported editions of Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, and Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by changing the way that Microsoft Office PowerPoint and Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer parse specially crafted PowerPoint files. For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update at the earliest opportunity.

Known Issues. Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 975416 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when installing this security update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues. When currently known issues and recommended solutions pertain only to specific releases of this software, this article provides links to further articles.

Affected and Non-Affected Software

The following software have been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software

Office Suite and Other SoftwareComponentMaximum Security ImpactAggregate Severity RatingBulletins Replaced by this Update
Microsoft Office Suites and Components
Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 Service Pack 3
(KB973143)
Remote Code ExecutionImportantMS09-017
Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3
(KB976881)
Remote Code ExecutionImportantMS09-017
Microsoft Office for Mac
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac
(KB979674)
Not applicableRemote Code ExecutionImportantNone

Non-Affected Software

Office and Other Software
Microsoft Office Suites and Components
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Service Pack 1 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Service Pack 2
Microsoft Office for Mac
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
Open XML File Format Converter for Mac
Other Office Software
PowerPoint Viewer 2007 Service Pack 1 and PowerPoint Viewer 2007 Service Pack 2
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1 and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 2
Microsoft Works 8.5
Microsoft Works 9

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Related to This Security Update

Vulnerability Information

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers

PowerPoint File Path Handling Buffer Overflow Vulnerability - CVE-2010-0029

PowerPoint LinkedSlideAtom Heap Overflow Vulnerability - CVE-2010-0030

PowerPoint OEPlaceholderAtom 'placementId' Invalid Array Indexing Vulnerability - CVE-2010-0031

PowerPoint OEPlaceholderAtom Use After Free Vulnerability - CVE-2010-0032

PowerPoint Viewer TextBytesAtom Record Stack Overflow Vulnerability - CVE-2010-0033

Office PowerPoint Viewer TextCharsAtom Record Stack Overflow Vulnerability - CVE-2010-0034

Update Information

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Security Update Deployment

Other Information

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers:

  • Carsten Eiram of Secunia for reporting the PowerPoint File Path Handling Buffer Overflow (CVE-2010-0029)
  • Sean Larsson of VeriSign iDefense Labs for reporting the PowerPoint LinkedSlideAtom Heap Overflow Vulnerability (CVE-2010-0030)
  • Sean Larsson of VeriSign iDefense Labs for reporting the PowerPoint OEPlaceholderAtom 'placementId' Invalid Array Indexing Vulnerability (CVE-2010-0031)
  • Sean Larsson of VeriSign iDefense Labs for reporting the PowerPoint OEPlaceholderAtom Use After Free Vulnerability (CVE-2010-0032)
  • SkD, working with TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative, for reporting the PowerPoint Viewer TextBytesAtom Record Stack Overflow Vulnerability (CVE-2010-0033)
  • Cody Pierce of TippingPoint DVLabs for reporting the Office PowerPoint Viewer TextCharsAtom Record Stack Overflow (CVE-2010-0034)

Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP)

To improve security protections for customers, Microsoft provides vulnerability information to major security software providers in advance of each monthly security update release. Security software providers can then use this vulnerability information to provide updated protections to customers via their security software or devices, such as antivirus, network-based intrusion detection systems, or host-based intrusion prevention systems. To determine whether active protections are available from security software providers, please visit the active protections Web sites provided by program partners, listed in Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) Partners.

Support

  • Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Security Support or 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates. For more information about available support options, see Microsoft Help and Support.
  • International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit the International Support Web site.

Disclaimer

The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.

Revisions

  • V1.0 (February 9, 2010): Bulletin published.