Security Bulletin

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-073 - Important

Published: December 08, 2009 | Updated: January 27, 2010

Version: 2.1

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft WordPad and Microsoft Office text converters. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a specially crafted Word 97 file is opened in WordPad or Microsoft Office. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same privileges as the user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer privileges on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative privileges.

This security update is rated Important for WordPad on all supported editions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. This security update is also rated Important for all supported editions of Microsoft Office XP and Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office Converter Pack, and Microsoft Works 8.5. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way WordPad and the Office Text Converters parse Word 97 documents. For more information about the vulnerability, 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 975539 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when installing this security update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues.

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

Windows Operating System and Components

Microsoft Office

Non-Affected Software

Why was this bulletin revised on January 13, 2010?
Microsoft revised this bulletin to rename the update packages formerly listed as Microsoft Office Word 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB975008) and Microsoft Office Word 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB975051) to Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (KB975008) and Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB975051), respectively. This is because these update packages do not apply to Microsoft Office Word but only to text converters used by other Microsoft Office applications in order to read Word files. The Affected Software table and deployment information have been corrected accordingly. This is a bulletin-only change. There were no changes to the detection logic or the update files. Customers who have already successfully updated their systems, including customers with automatic updating enabled, do not need to take any action. Customers who have not installed this update previously may need to reassess whether their systems require this update based on the Affected Software table as revised.

Where are the file information details?
Refer to the reference tables in the Security Update Deployment section for the location of the file information details.

Does this update contain any security-related changes to functionality?
Yes, in addition to addressing the security vulnerability, this security update also prevents Windows components and third-party applications on affected platforms from using the WordPad Word 6 text converter to open Word 6.0 and Write files. When WordPad attempts to open a Word 6.0 or Write file, the file will not open and a dialog box will be displayed. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 975539.

What are the known issues that customers may experience when installing this security update?
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 975539 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when they install this security update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues.

The Office component discussed in this article is part of the Office suite that I have installed on my system; however, I did not choose to install this specific component. Will I be offered this update?
Yes, if the version of the Office Suite installed on your system shipped with the component discussed in this bulletin, the system will be offered updates for it whether the component is installed or not. The detection logic used to scan for affected systems is designed to check for updates for all components that shipped with the particular Office Suite and offer the updates to a system. Users who choose not to apply an update for a component that is not installed, but is included in their version of the Office Suite, will not increase the security risk of that system. On the other hand, users who do choose to install the update will not have a negative impact on the security or performance of a system.

Does the offer to update a non-vulnerable version of Microsoft Office constitute an issue in the Microsoft update mechanism?
No, the update mechanism is functioning correctly in that it detects a lower version of the files on the system than in the update package and thus, offers the update.

I am using an older release of the software discussed in this security bulletin. What should I do?
The affected software listed in this bulletin have been tested to determine which releases are affected. Other releases are past their support life cycle. For more information about the product lifecycle, visit the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Web site.

It should be a priority for customers who have older releases of the software to migrate to supported releases to prevent potential exposure to vulnerabilities. To determine the support lifecycle for your software release, see Select a Product for Lifecycle Information. For more information about service packs for these software releases, see Lifecycle Supported Service Packs.

Customers who require custom support for older software must contact their Microsoft account team representative, their Technical Account Manager, or the appropriate Microsoft partner representative for custom support options. Customers without an Alliance, Premier, or Authorized Contract can contact their local Microsoft sales office. For contact information, visit the Microsoft Worldwide Information Web site, select the country in the Contact Information list, and then click Go to see a list of telephone numbers. When you call, ask to speak with the local Premier Support sales manager. For more information, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ.

The following severity ratings assume the potential maximum impact of the vulnerability. For information regarding the likelihood, within 30 days of this security bulletin's release, of the exploitability of the vulnerability in relation to its severity rating and security impact, please see the Exploitability Index in the December bulletin summary. For more information, see Microsoft Exploitability Index.

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that text converters in Microsoft WordPad and Microsoft Office process memory when a user opens a specially crafted Word 97 file.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2009-2506.

Mitigation refers to a setting, common configuration, or general best-practice, existing in a default state, that could reduce the severity of exploitation of a vulnerability. The following mitigating factors may be helpful in your situation:

• An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same privileges as the user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer privileges on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative privileges.
• In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a Web site that contains a Web page that is used to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites that accept or host user-provided content or advertisements could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these Web sites. Instead, an attacker would have to persuade users to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's Web site.
• The vulnerability could not be exploited automatically through e-mail. For an attack to be successful a user must open an attachment that is sent in an e-mail message.
• A Web site that is being used to attempt to exploit the vulnerability would cause a dialog box to appear. The user would be prompted to open the file or not, unless the user had previously unchecked the option, "Always ask before opening this type of file".

Workaround refers to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying vulnerability but would help block known attack vectors before you apply the update. Microsoft has tested the following workarounds and states in the discussion whether a workaround reduces functionality.

• Disable the WordPad text converter for Word 97 by restricting access to the converter file

  Run the following commands from an administrator command prompt.

  Note You must undo this workaround prior to installing the security update.

  Depending on your operating system version and your history of operating system upgrades and service packs, some of the files referenced below may not exist.

  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft
  Shared\TextConv\mswrd832.cnv" /E /P everyone:N
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Microsoft
  Shared\TextConv\mswrd832.cnv" /E /P everyone:N
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\mswrd8.wpc" /E /P everyone:N
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\mswrd864.wpc" /E /P everyone:N
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows NT\Accessories\mswrd8.wpc" /E /P everyone:N
  

  Impact of workaround. When opening a Word 97 document in WordPad, it will show the binary data instead of the formatted text.

  How to undo the workaround. Run the following commands from an administrator command prompt.

  Depending on your operating system version and your history of operating system upgrades and service packs, some of the file referenced below may not exist.

  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv\mswrd832.cnv" /E /R everyone
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv\mswrd832.cnv" /E /R everyone
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\mswrd8.wpc" /E /R everyone
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\mswrd864.wpc" /E /R everyone
  echo y| cacls "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows NT\Accessories\mswrd8.wpc" /E /R everyone
  

What is the scope of the vulnerability?
This is a remote code execution vulnerability. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system remotely. An attacker could then install programs or view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

What causes the vulnerability?
The vulnerability results from the way that the text converter for Word 97 (included as part of WordPad and as part of the Office text converters) parses a specially crafted Word 97 document.

What are WordPad Text Converters and Office Text Converters?
WordPad is a default component of Microsoft Windows operating systems. Text converters in WordPad allow users who do not have Microsoft Office Word installed to open documents in Microsoft Windows Write (.wri) and Microsoft Office Word 6.0, Microsoft Office Word 97, Microsoft Office Word 2000, and Microsoft Office Word 2002 (.doc) file formats. These text converters also allow users to save documents in the Word 6.0 file format.

Text converters are also a default component of Microsoft Office that allow users to open and save as older Office file formats, including the Word 6.0 file format.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code as the logged-on user. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the affected system. 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.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
This vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted document with an affected version of WordPad or Microsoft Office.

In an e-mail attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted file to the user and by convincing the user to open the file using either WordPad or Microsoft Office.

In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web site that contains a document that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit a specially crafted Web site. Instead, an attacker would have to convince them to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link that takes them to the attacker's site.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability?
Systems, such as workstations and terminal servers, with WordPad or Microsoft Office installed where documents are opened from untrusted sources are primarily at risk. Servers could be at more risk if administrators allow users to log on to servers and to run programs. However, best practices strongly discourage allowing this.

What does the update do?
This update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way that WordPad and the Office Text Converters parse Word 97 documents.

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed?
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through responsible disclosure.

When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited?
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers and had not seen any examples of proof of concept code published when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile systems in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The Microsoft TechNet Security Web site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products.

Security updates are available from Microsoft Update and Windows Update. Security updates are also available from the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update."

Finally, security updates can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog. The Microsoft Update Catalog provides a searchable catalog of content made available through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, including security updates, drivers and service packs. By searching using the security bulletin number (such as, "MS07-036"), you can add all of the applicable updates to your basket (including different languages for an update), and download to the folder of your choosing. For more information about the Microsoft Update Catalog, see the Microsoft Update Catalog FAQ.

Note Microsoft discontinued support for Office Update and the Office Update Inventory Tool as of August 1, 2009. To continue getting the latest updates for Microsoft Office products, use Microsoft Update. For more information, see About Microsoft Office Update: Frequently Asked Questions.

Detection and Deployment Guidance

Microsoft provides detection and deployment guidance for security updates. This guidance contains recommendations and information that can help IT professionals understand how to use various tools for detection and deployment of security updates. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 961747.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) allows administrators to scan local and remote systems for missing security updates as well as common security misconfigurations. For more information about MBSA, visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

The following table provides the MBSA detection summary for this security update.

The latest version of MBSA has been released: Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.1.1. For more information, see Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.1.

Windows Server Update Services

By using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), administrators can deploy the latest critical updates and security updates for Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems and later, Office XP and later, Exchange Server 2003, and SQL Server 2000. For more information about how to deploy this security update using Windows Server Update Services, visit the Windows Server Update Services Web site.

Systems Management Server

The following table provides the SMS detection and deployment summary for this security update.

For SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003, the Security Update Inventory Tool (SUIT) can be used by SMS to detect security updates. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2.0.

For SMS 2003, the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates (ITMU) can be used by SMS to detect security updates that are offered by Microsoft Update and that are supported by Windows Server Update Services. For more information about the SMS 2003 ITMU, see SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates. For more information about SMS scanning tools, see SMS 2003 Software Update Scanning Tools. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2003.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 uses WSUS 3.0 for detection of updates. For more information about Configuration Manager 2007 Software Update Management, visit System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

For more information about SMS, visit the SMS Web site.

For more detailed information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723: Summary list of monthly detection and deployment guidance articles.

Update Compatibility Evaluator and Application Compatibility Toolkit

Updates often write to the same files and registry settings required for your applications to run. This can trigger incompatibilities and increase the time it takes to deploy security updates. You can streamline testing and validating Windows updates against installed applications with the Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit.

The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Microsoft Windows Vista, a Windows Update, a Microsoft Security Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer in your environment.

Affected Software

For information about the specific security update for your affected software, click the appropriate link:

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Installing the Update

When you install this security update, the installer checks whether one or more of the files that are being updated on your system have previously been updated by a Microsoft hotfix.

If you have previously installed a hotfix to update one of these files, the installer copies the RTMQFE, SP1QFE, or SP2QFE files to your system. Otherwise, the installer copies the RTMGDR, SP1GDR, or SP2GDR files to your system. Security updates may not contain all variations of these files. For more information about this behavior, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824994.

For more information about the installer, visit the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841.

Removing the Update

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Verifying That the Update Has Been Applied

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

  To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

• File Version Verification

  Because there are several editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start, and then click Search.
  2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion.
  3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search.
  4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties.
     Note Depending on the edition of the operating system, or the programs that are installed on your system, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed.
  5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your system by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table.
     Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

• Registry Key Verification

  You may also be able to verify the files that this security update has installed by reviewing the registry keys listed in the Reference Table in this section.

  These registry keys may not contain a complete list of installed files. Also, these registry keys may not be created correctly when an administrator or an OEM integrates or slipstreams this security update into the Windows installation source files.

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Note For supported versions of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, this security update is the same as supported versions of the Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition security update.

Installing the Update

When you install this security update, the installer checks whether one or more of the files that are being updated on your system have previously been updated by a Microsoft hotfix.

If you have previously installed a hotfix to update one of these files, the installer copies the RTMQFE, SP1QFE, or SP2QFE files to your system. Otherwise, the installer copies the RTMGDR, SP1GDR, or SP2GDR files to your system. Security updates may not contain all variations of these files. For more information about this behavior, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824994.

For more information about the installer, visit the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841.

Removing the Update

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Verifying That the Update Has Been Applied

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

  To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

• File Version Verification

  Because there are several editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start, and then click Search.
  2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion.
  3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search.
  4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties.
     Note Depending on the edition of the operating system, or the programs that are installed on your system, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed.
  5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your system by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table.
     Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

• Registry Key Verification

  You may also be able to verify the files that this security update has installed by reviewing the registry keys listed in the Reference Table in this section.

  These registry keys may not contain a complete list of installed files. Also, these registry keys may not be created correctly when an administrator or an OEM integrates or slipstreams this security update into the Windows installation source files.

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Installing the Update

When you install this security update, the installer checks to see if one or more of the files that are being updated on your system have previously been updated by a Microsoft hotfix.

If you have previously installed a hotfix to update one of these files, the installer copies the RTMQFE, SP1QFE, or SP2QFE files to your system. Otherwise, the installer copies the RTMGDR, SP1GDR, or SP2GDR files to your system. Security updates may not contain all variations of these files. For more information about this behavior, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824994.

For more information about the installer, visit the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841.

Removing the Update

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

  To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

• File Version Verification

  Because there are several editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start, and then click Search.
  2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion.
  3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search.
  4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties.
     Note Depending on the edition of the operating system, or the programs that are installed on your system, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed.
  5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your system by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table.
     Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

• Registry Key Verification

  You may also be able to verify the files that this security update has installed by reviewing the registry keys listed in the Reference Table in this section.

  These registry keys may not contain a complete list of installed files. Also, these registry keys may not be created correctly when an administrator or an OEM integrates or slipstreams this security update into the Windows installation source files.

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

The following table contains the list of feature names (case sensitive) that must be reinstalled for the update. To install all features, you can use REINSTALL=ALL or you can install the following features:

Note Administrators working in managed environments can find complete resources for deploying Office updates in an organization at the Office Admin Update Center. At that site, scroll down and look under the Update Resources section for the software version you are updating. The Windows Installer Documentation also provides more information about the parameters supported by Windows Installer.

Installing the Update

You can install the update from the appropriate download link in the Affected and Non-Affected Software section. If you installed your application from a server location, the server administrator must instead update the server location with the administrative update and deploy that update to your system. For more information about Administrative Installation Points, refer to the Office Administrative Installation Point information in the Detection and deployment Tools and Guidance subsection.

This security update requires that Windows Installer 2.0 or later be installed on the system. All supported versions of Windows include Windows Installer 2.0 or a later version.

To install the 2.0 or later version of Windows Installer, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:

• Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
• Windows Installer 3.1 Redistributable for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000
• Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841.

Removing the Update

To remove this security update, use the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. Note When you remove this update, you may be prompted to insert the Microsoft Office XP CD in the CD drive. Additionally, you may not have the option to uninstall the update from the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. There are several possible causes for this issue. For more information about the removal, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 903771.

Verifying That the Update Has Been Applied

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

  To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

• File Version Verification

  Because there are several versions and editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start, and then click Search.
  2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion.
  3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search.
  4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties.
     Note Depending on the version of the operating system or programs installed, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed.
  5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your system by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table.
     Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

The following table contains the list of feature names (case sensitive) that must be reinstalled for the update. To install all features, you can use REINSTALL=ALL or you can install the following features:

Note Administrators working in managed environments can find complete resources for deploying Office updates in an organization at the Office Admin Update Center. At that site, scroll down and look under the Update Resources section for the software version you are updating. The Windows Installer Documentation also provides more information about the parameters supported by Windows Installer.

Installing the Update

You can install the update from the appropriate download link in the Affected and Non-Affected Software section. If you installed your application from a server location, the server administrator must instead update the server location with the administrative update and deploy that update to your system. For more information about Administrative Installation Points, refer to the Office Administrative Installation Point information in the Detection and deployment Tools and Guidance subsection.

This security update requires that Windows Installer 2.0 or later be installed on the system. All supported versions of Windows include Windows Installer 2.0 or a later version.

To install the 2.0 or later version of Windows Installer, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:

• Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
• Windows Installer 3.1 Redistributable for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows 2000
• Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841.

Removing the Update

To remove this security update, use the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel.

Note When you remove this update, you may be prompted to insert the Microsoft Office 2003 CD in the CD drive. Additionally, you may not have the option to uninstall the update from the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. There are several possible causes for this issue. For more information about the removal, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 903771.

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

  To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

• File Version Verification

  Because there are several editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start and then enter an update file name in Start Search.
  2. When the file appears under Programs, right-click on the file name and click Properties.
  3. Under the General tab, compare the file size with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
  4. You may also click on the Details tab and compare information, such as file version and date modified, with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
  5. Finally, you may also click on the Previous Versions tab and compare file information for the previous version of the file with the file information for the new, or updated, version of the file.

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Installing the Update

You can install the update from the appropriate download link in the Affected and Non-Affected Software section. If you installed your application from a server location, the server administrator must instead update the server location with the administrative update and deploy that update to your system. For more information about Administrative Installation Points, refer to the Office Administrative Installation Point information in the Detection and deployment Tools and Guidance subsection.

This security update requires that Windows Installer 3.1 or later be installed on the system.

To install the 3.1 or later version of Windows Installer, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:

• Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
• Windows Installer 3.1 Redistributable for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841.

Removing the Update

To remove this security update, use the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel.

Note When you remove this update, you may be prompted to insert the 2007 Microsoft Office CD in the CD drive. Additionally, you may not have the option to uninstall the update from the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. There are several possible causes for this issue. For more information about the removal, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 903771.

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

  To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

• File Version Verification

  Because there are several editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start and then enter an update file name in Start Search.
  2. When the file appears under Programs, right-click on the file name and click Properties.
  3. Under the General tab, compare the file size with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
  4. You may also click on the Details tab and compare information, such as file version and date modified, with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
  5. Finally, you may also click on the Previous Versions tab and compare file information for the previous version of the file with the file information for the new, or updated, version of the file.

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Installing the Update

You can install the update from the appropriate download link in the Affected and Non-Affected Software section. If you installed your application from a server location, the server administrator must instead update the server location with the administrative update and deploy that update to your system. For more information about Administrative Installation Points, refer to the Office Administrative Installation Point information in the Detection and deployment Tools and Guidance subsection.

This security update requires that Windows Installer 2.0 or later be installed on the system. All supported versions of Windows include Windows Installer 2.0 or a later version.

To install the 2.0 or later version of Windows Installer, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:

• Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
• Windows Installer 3.1 Redistributable for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000
• Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841.

Removing the Update

To remove this security update, use the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel.

Note When you remove this update, you may be prompted to insert the Microsoft Office 2003 CD in the CD drive. Additionally, you may not have the option to uninstall the update from the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. There are several possible causes for this issue. For more information about the removal, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 903771.

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

  To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

• File Version Verification

  Because there are several editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start and then enter an update file name in Start Search.
  2. When the file appears under Programs, right-click on the file name and click Properties.
  3. Under the General tab, compare the file size with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
  4. You may also click on the Details tab and compare information, such as file version and date modified, with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
  5. Finally, you may also click on the Previous Versions tab and compare file information for the previous version of the file with the file information for the new, or updated, version of the file.

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

• Sean Larsson and Jun Mao of VeriSign iDefense Labs for reporting WordPad and Office Text converter Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2009-2506)

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.

• 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.

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.

• V1.0 (December 8, 2009): Bulletin published.
• V1.1 (December 9, 2009): Removed a redundant entry for the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack from the non-affected software table. Also corrected several deployment reference tables to clarify that in some cases, this update does not require a restart. This is an informational change only.
• V2.0 (January 13, 2010): Renamed the update packages formerly listed as Microsoft Office Word 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB975008) and Microsoft Office Word 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB975051) to Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (KB975008) and Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB975051), respectively. Added an Update FAQ to explain this bulletin-only change. There were no changes to the detection logic or the update files. Customers who have already successfully updated their systems do not need to take any action.
• V2.1 (January 27, 2010): Corrected erroneous entries in the Executive Summary, Update FAQ, and Vunerability FAQ to clarify that the Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (KB975008) and Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB975051) update packages do not apply to Microsoft Office Word but only to text converters used by other Microsoft Office applications in order to read Word files. This is an informational change only.

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