Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-014)

[aleph1 () UNDERGROUND ORG (aleph1 () UNDERGROUND ORG)]

The following is a Security  Bulletin from the Microsoft Product Security
Notification Service.

Please do not  reply to this message,  as it was sent  from an unattended
mailbox.
                    ********************************

Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-014)
--------------------------------------

Patch Available for Excel 97 Virus Warning Vulnerabilities

Originally Posted: May 7, 1999

Summary
=======
Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates vulnerabilities in the Excel
97 virus warning mechanism. The patch is fully supported, and Microsoft
recommends that affected customers download and install it, if appropriate.

Issue
=====
Microsoft Excel 97 provides a feature that warns the user before launching
an external file that could potentially contain a virus or other malicious
software. This feature allows the user to weigh the risk of opening the
file, based on its origin, the network it is located on and the security
practices in operation there, the sensitivity of the data on the user's
computer, and other factors.

However, certain scenarios have been identified that could be misused to
bypass the warning mechanism. In general, they require the use of
infrequently-combined features and commands, and are unlikely to be
encountered in normal use. This patch addresses these issues so that they
cannot be taken advantage of by a malicious user.

While there are no reports of customers being adversely affected by any of
the vulnerabilities eliminated by the patch, Microsoft is proactively
releasing the patch to allow customers to take appropriate action to protect
themselves against it. These fixes are already built into Excel 2000 and
users of that product will not need to download this patch.

Affected Software Versions
==========================
 - Microsoft Excel 97

What Microsoft is Doing
=======================
Microsoft has released patches that fix the problem identified. The patches
are available for download from the sites listed below in What Customers
Should Do.

Microsoft also has sent this security bulletin to customers subscribing
to the Microsoft Product Security Notification Service. See
http://www.microsoft.com/security/services/bulletin.asp for more
information about this free customer service.

Microsoft has published the following Knowledge Base (KB) article on this
issue:
 - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q231304,
   Patch Available for Excel 97 Virus Warning Vulnerabilities,
   http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/3/04.asp.
   (Note: It might take 24 hours from the original posting of this bulletin
   for the KB article to be visible in the Web-based Knowledge Base.)

What Customers Should Do
========================
Microsoft highly recommends that customers evaluate the degree of risk that
this vulnerability poses to their systems and determine whether to download
and install the patch. The patch can be found at:
 - http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloaddetails/xl8p6pkg.htm

More Information
================
Please see the following references for more information related to this
issue.
 - Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-013,
   Patch Available for Excel 97 Virus Warning Vulnerabilities
   (the Web-posted version of this bulletin),
   http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-013.asp.
 - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q231304,
   Patch Available for Excel 97 Virus Warning Vulnerabilities,
   http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/3/04.asp.

Obtaining Support on this Issue
===============================
If you require technical assistance with this issue, please contact
Microsoft Technical Support. For information on contacting Microsoft
Technical Support, please see
http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp.

Revisions
=========
 - May 7, 1999: Bulletin Created.


For additional security-related information about Microsoft products, please
visit http://www.microsoft.com/security


--------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

(c) 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.

   *******************************************************************
You have received  this e-mail bulletin as a result  of your registration
to  the   Microsoft  Product  Security  Notification   Service.  You  may
unsubscribe from this e-mail notification  service at any time by sending
an  e-mail  to  MICROSOFT_SECURITY-SIGNOFF-REQUEST () ANNOUNCE MICROSOFT COM
The subject line and message body are not used in processing the request,
and can be anything you like.

For  more  information on  the  Microsoft  Security Notification  Service
please    visit    http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletin.htm.    For
security-related information  about Microsoft products, please  visit the
Microsoft Security Advisor web site at http://www.microsoft.com/security.