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Security Best Practice: Blocking Legacy PowerPoint Files

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Check Point Reference: SBP-2010-30
Date Published:
Severity:
Last Updated:
Source: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-088
Industry Reference(s): CVE-2010-2572
Protection Provided by: Security Gateway
  • R71
  • R70
VPN-1
  • NGX R65
VSX
  • NGX R65
IPS-1
  • IPS-1
  • IPS-1 NGX R65
Who is Vulnerable?
Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 SP3
Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 SP3
Vulnerability Description
A remote code execution vulnerability has been identified in Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular graphics software for preparing slides and presentations. A remote attacker could exploit this issue via a malformed PowerPoint file. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may allow execution of arbitrary code on a target system.
Update/Patch Available
Update patches:
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-088 
Vulnerability Details
The vulnerability is due to an error in Microsoft Office PowerPoint that fails to properly parse PowerPoint 95 files. A remote attacker could trigger this flaw by convincing a victim to open a specially crafted PowerPoint file in legacy format. Successful exploitation of this issue may corrupt system memory, allowing execution of arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Protection Overview
This protection detects and blocks the transferring of legacy Office PowerPoint files over HTTP. 

Since the protection offered in this advisory may degrade performance and block access to legitimate files, users are advised to use this protection as a workaround till all systems are patched. 

In order for the protection to be activated, update your Security Gateway/VPN-1 product to the latest IPS/SmartDefense update. For information on how to update IPS/SmartDefense, go to SBP-2006-05, Protection tab and select the version of your choice. 

To configure the defense, select your product from the list below and follow the related protection steps.

Security Gateway: R70/R71

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the IPS tab, click Protections > By Protocol > Application Intelligence > Content Protection.
2. In the right pane, double-click the Microsoft Office PowerPoint Legacy Files protection.
3. In the Protection Details window, click on Edit. Choose the protection's Action (Override IPS Policy with: Prevent/Detect), and apply Additional Settings. 
4. Install policy on all modules.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
SmartView Tracker will log the following entries: 

Attack Name: Content Protection Violation
Attack Information: Microsoft Office PowerPoint legacy file

VPN-1 NGX R65 & VSX NGX R65

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the SmartDefense tab, click Application Intelligence > Content Protection.
2. Select the following protection:

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Legacy Files

3. In the configuration pane, under Settings > Mode, check Active.
4. Install policy on all modules.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
SmartView Tracker will log the following entries: 

Attack Name: Content Protection Violation
Attack Information: Microsoft Office PowerPoint legacy file

IPS-1 & IPS-1 NGX R65

How Can I Protect My Network?
1. In the IPS-1 Policy Manager, click on the Protection tab.
2. In the Protection tree, click Application Intelligence > Badfiles, and select the Microsoft Office Parser protection group.
3. Click Microsoft PowerPoint Parsing Buffer Overflow (MS10-088) (IPS-1 NGX R65 only).
4. In the configuration pane, under Settings, check Active.
5. Click on Install Policy.

How Do I Know if My Network is Under Attack?
Upon attack, the following entries will be logged:

Alert Name: Vulnerability in MS-Office file
Description: Microsoft PowerPoint Parsing Buffer Overflow (MS10-088)