Microsoft Office: The Hacker’s Playground – Why Your Documents Are Still Vulnerable

Hot Take:

Who knew Excel could be such a double agent? Microsoft Office is like that friend who brings chips to your party but also lets in the uninvited guests. Time to check those macros before they get too macro-manic!

Key Points:

• Microsoft Office documents are prime targets for malware attacks.
• Threat actors use both simple and advanced methods to exploit Office vulnerabilities.
• Common methods include malicious links, QR codes, and exploiting known vulnerabilities like CVE-2017-11882 and CVE-2017-0199.
• Macros, despite being disabled by default, still pose a risk.
• Microsoft has taken steps to block macros by default to mitigate risks.

Office Invasion: The Malware Migration

Despite Microsoft’s Herculean efforts, Office documents have become the red carpet for malware aficionados. According to a recent report by Cofense, Microsoft Office’s ubiquitous presence in the workforce has turned it into a playground for cyber miscreants. It’s like giving them VIP passes to your digital life. These threat actors, always the overachievers, are using a variety of tactics—ranging from the amateur hour of malicious links and QR codes to the PhD-level exploits of known vulnerabilities.

Simple Tricks for Simpletons

For the cybercriminal who prefers the path of least resistance, there’s always the ‘share a malicious link or QR code in the document’ technique. It’s like slipping a bad mixtape into an otherwise great playlist. Click on the link, and boom! Your system is now a malware wonderland. These links can point to malware tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the internet, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting users.

The Vulnerability Vault

Not content with just the simple stuff, some cybercriminals dive into the deep end with complex exploits. Take, for instance, CVE-2017-11882 and CVE-2017-0199. Both discovered and patched in 2017, these vulnerabilities are like the moldy leftovers you forgot in the fridge—still there, and still dangerous. CVE-2017-11882 is a memory corruption vulnerability that uses Office’s equation editor to wreak havoc. Meanwhile, CVE-2017-0199, also known as the Office/WordPad remote code execution vulnerability (RCE), allows for remote code execution via malformed HTA files in RTF documents. It’s like turning your friendly neighborhood WordPad into a rogue agent.

The Ghost of Macros Past

Ah, macros—Microsoft’s former darling turned problematic ex. These sequences of instructions, often written in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), were once the go-to for automating repetitive tasks. However, they also became the go-to for cybercriminals looking to distribute malware. Microsoft, realizing the monster they’d created, recently made macros disabled by default. Now, users have to jump through more hoops than a circus tiger to enable them. But even with these roadblocks, the ghost of macros past continues to haunt.

Microsoft’s Security Tightrope

In a bid to stay one step ahead of the cybercriminals, Microsoft has taken further actions to block macros by default. It’s like putting up “Do Not Enter” signs all over a haunted house. And while that’s a great step forward, it’s also a reminder that no security measure is foolproof. As long as Microsoft Office remains a staple in the business world, it will continue to be a prime target for those looking to exploit its flaws.