Microsoft Access CVE-2018-8312 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Description

Microsoft Access is prone to a remote code-execution vulnerability. An attacker can exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code in the context of an affected system. Failed exploit attempts may result in a denial of service condition; this can result in the attacker gaining complete control of the affected system.

Technologies Affected

• Microsoft Access 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)
• Microsoft Access 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)
• Microsoft Access 2016 (32-bit edition)
• Microsoft Access 2016 (64-bit edition)
• Microsoft Office 2016 Click-to-Run (C2R) for 32-bit edition
• Microsoft Office 2016 Click-to-Run (C2R) for 64-bit edition

Recommendations

Run all software as a nonprivileged user with minimal access rights.
To mitigate the impact of a successful exploit, run the affected application as a user with minimal access rights.

Deploy network intrusion detection systems to monitor network traffic for malicious activity.
Deploy NIDS to monitor network traffic for signs of suspicious or anomalous activity. This may help detect malicious actions that an attacker may take after successfully exploiting vulnerabilities in applications. Review all applicable logs regularly.

Do not accept or execute files from untrusted or unknown sources.
Never accept files from untrusted or unknown sources, because they may be malicious in nature. Avoid opening email attachments from unknown or questionable sources.

Implement multiple redundant layers of security.
Since this issue may be leveraged to execute code, we recommend memory-protection schemes, such as nonexecutable stack/heap configurations and randomly mapped memory segments. This tactic may complicate exploit attempts of memory-corruption vulnerabilities.

Updates are available. Please see the references or vendor advisory for more information.