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HighCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Microsoft Office EPS Filter Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

IdentifiersCVE-2017-0262CWE-843

CVE-2017-0262 is a remote code execution vulnerability affecting Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016. The issue is associated with Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) handling in Office, where malicious Office documents invoke FLTLDR.EXE to render embedded EPS content. Supporting reporting describes the flaw as an EPS type confusion involving a forged procedure object used with the PostScript forall operator to control operand stack values. Observed exploitation used heap spraying and forged objects to leak module base information for EPSIMP32.flt, then pivoted through a forged file object and the bytesavailable operator into a ROP chain and shellcode. In the wild, the vulnerability was delivered via spearphishing documents such as a Word document containing an embedded malicious EPS file and was used by APT28/Sofacy/Sednit to execute payloads including GAMEFISH and Seduploader.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows remote code execution in the context of the user opening the malicious Office document. In observed campaigns, attackers used the flaw to execute shellcode from a crafted Word document and then chain it with CVE-2017-0263 to escape the FLTLDR.EXE sandbox, elevate privileges to SYSTEM, and install malware such as GAMEFISH or Seduploader. The practical impact is full compromise of the affected workstation, subject initially to the privileges of the current user and, when chained with a local privilege-escalation vulnerability, complete system takeover.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Disable or restrict EPS processing in Microsoft Office in accordance with Microsoft's ADV170005 guidance. Reduce exposure by blocking or sandboxing unsolicited Office attachments, especially spearphishing-delivered Word documents with embedded EPS content. Use Protected View, attachment detonation, and mail gateway filtering for suspicious Office documents. Limit user privileges to reduce post-exploitation impact, and monitor for abnormal FLTLDR.EXE invocation, embedded EPS rendering, and child-process or shellcode-like behavior originating from Office applications.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply Microsoft's security updates for CVE-2017-0262 for affected Office versions. Microsoft also disabled EPS processing in Office as part of April 2017 Patch Tuesday and advised customers to follow ADV170005 as a defense-in-depth measure against EPS filter vulnerabilities. Systems running Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 should be updated to patched builds and any legacy EPS handling components should remain disabled unless explicitly required and securely managed.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
Microsoft CorporationOfficeapplication

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What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence5

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware2

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures2

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity1

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.