Fortinet Discovers Microsoft Publisher 2010 Memory Corruption Vulnerability

Summary

Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs has discovered a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher 2010.
Microsoft Publisher is an entry-level desktop publishing application, differing from Microsoft Word in that the emphasis is placed on page layout and design rather than text composition and proofing. Publisher is included in higher-end editions of Microsoft Office with a focus on the small business market where firms do not have dedicated design professionals available to make marketing materials and other documents.
A memory corruption vulnerability has been discovered in Publisher 2010. The vulnerability can be triggered by a crafted .pub file which causes an out-of-bounds read, due to improper bounds checking. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could grant an attacker remote code execution.

Solutions

FortiGuard Labs released the following FortiGate IPS signature which covers this specific vulnerability:

MS.Office.Publisher.MSVCR90.DLL.Memory.Corruption
Released Nov 16, 2016

Users should apply the solution provided by Microsoft.

Additional Information

Fortinet reported the vulnerability to Microsoft on Oct. 3.

Microsoft confirmed the vulnerability on Nov. 15.

Microsoft patched the vulnerability on Dec. 13.

Acknowledgement

This vulnerability was discovered by Peixue Li of Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs.

IPS Subscription

Fortinet customers who subscribe to Fortinet's intrusion prevention (IPS) service should be protected against this vulnerability with the appropriate configuration parameters in place. Fortinet's IPS service is one component of FortiGuard Subscription Services, which also offer comprehensive solutions such as antivirus, Web content filtering and antispam capabilities. These services enable protection against threats on both application and network layers. FortiGuard Services are continuously updated by FortiGuard Labs, which enables Fortinet to deliver a combination of multi-layered security intelligence and true zero-day protection from new and emerging threats. These updates are delivered to all FortiGate, FortiMail and FortiClient products. Fortinet strictly follows responsible disclosure guidelines to ensure optimum protection during a threat's lifecycle.