An information disclosure vulnerability exists when Microsoft Word improperly discloses the contents of its memory. An attacker who exploited the vulnerability could use the information to compromise the user’s computer or data. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker could craft a special document file and then convince the user to open it. An attacker must know the memory address location where the object was created. The update addresses the vulnerability by changing the way certain Word functions handle objects in memory.
What type of information could be disclosed by this vulnerability? The type of information that could be disclosed if an attacker successfully exploited this vulnerability is uninitialized memory. Is the Preview Pane an attack vector for this vulnerability? No, the Preview Pane is not an attack vector.
Haifei Li of McAfee IPS Security Research Team