📄 Description (English)
Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability — A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office software when it fails to properly handle objects in memory.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2017-8570 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Office that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting improper handling of objects in memory. This vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild and has publicly available exploit code, making it extremely dangerous. Attackers typically deliver malicious Office documents via email or web downloads to compromise target systems. Given its age (2017) and widespread exploitation, any unpatched systems remain at severe risk.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 9, 2026 02:33
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk across all Saudi sectors due to the ubiquitous use of Microsoft Office. Government entities regulated by NCA, banking institutions under SAMA oversight, Saudi Aramco and energy sector organizations, telecom providers like STC, and healthcare organizations are all at risk. Saudi organizations are frequently targeted by APT groups (including Iranian and other regional threat actors) who have historically leveraged CVE-2017-8570 in spear-phishing campaigns targeting Middle Eastern entities. Legacy systems in government and education sectors that may not have applied the 2017 patch are particularly vulnerable.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government
Banking
Energy
Telecom
Healthcare
Education
Defense
Retail
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
9.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Apply Microsoft security update KB4036162 (July 2017) and all subsequent cumulative updates immediately on all systems running Microsoft Office.
2. Conduct an inventory scan to identify all unpatched Microsoft Office installations across the organization.
Detection & Monitoring:
3. Deploy email gateway rules to scan and sandbox Office documents containing OLE objects, composite monikers, and embedded scripts.
4. Enable Windows Defender Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules to block Office applications from creating child processes.
5. Monitor for YARA rules targeting CVE-2017-8570 exploit patterns (SCT file execution via scriptlet).
Compensating Controls:
6. Implement Microsoft Office Protected View and disable macros for documents from external sources.
7. Block .sct, .hta, and .wsf file types at email gateways and web proxies.
8. Apply application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized script execution.
9. Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement if exploitation occurs.
Long-term:
10. Upgrade to the latest supported version of Microsoft Office (Microsoft 365) with automatic updates enabled.
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تطبيق تحديث الأمان من Microsoft رقم KB4036162 (يوليو 2017) وجميع التحديثات التراكمية اللاحقة فوراً على جميع الأنظمة التي تعمل بـ Microsoft Office.
2. إجراء فحص شامل لتحديد جميع تثبيتات Microsoft Office غير المحدثة في المنظمة.
الكشف والمراقبة:
3. نشر قواعد بوابة البريد الإلكتروني لفحص وعزل مستندات Office التي تحتوي على كائنات OLE والبرامج النصية المضمنة.
4. تفعيل قواعد تقليل سطح الهجوم (ASR) في Windows Defender لمنع تطبيقات Office من إنشاء عمليات فرعية.
5. مراقبة قواعد YARA التي تستهدف أنماط استغلال CVE-2017-8570 (تنفيذ ملفات SCT عبر scriptlet).
الضوابط التعويضية:
6. تفعيل العرض المحمي في Microsoft Office وتعطيل وحدات الماكرو للمستندات من مصادر خارجية.
7. حظر أنواع الملفات .sct و .hta و .wsf في بوابات البريد الإلكتروني وخوادم الويب الوكيلة.
8. تطبيق القوائم البيضاء للتطبيقات لمنع تنفيذ البرامج النصية غير المصرح بها.
9. تنفيذ تجزئة الشبكة للحد من الحركة الجانبية في حالة الاستغلال.
على المدى الطويل:
10. الترقية إلى أحدث إصدار مدعوم من Microsoft Office (Microsoft 365) مع تفعيل التحديثات التلقائية.
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
2-3-1 (Patch Management)
2-5-1 (Email Security)
2-2-1 (Malware Protection)
2-6-1 (Vulnerability Management)
1-3-1 (Risk Management)
🔵 SAMA CSF
3.3.3 (Patch Management)
3.3.5 (Malware Protection)
3.3.7 (Email and Web Security)
3.1.3 (Vulnerability Management)
3.3.1 (Endpoint Security)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.8.8 (Management of technical vulnerabilities)
A.8.7 (Protection against malware)
A.8.23 (Web filtering)
A.5.7 (Threat intelligence)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
6.3.3 (Install critical security patches within one month)
5.2 (Deploy anti-malware mechanisms)
11.3 (Penetration testing)
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Microsoft:Office