New unpatched Microsoft office vulnerability – “Follina”

by | Jun 10, 2022 | Security

A new unpatched Microsoft office vulnerability has been discovered by security researchers. The vulnerability, dubbed “Follina”, affects all versions of Microsoft Office from 2007 onwards.

Follina tricks the system into downloading malware from a remote URL that is not part of the initial document download. It is triggered when a specially crafted office document is opened. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to complete compromise of the affected system.

Microsoft has not yet released a patch for this vulnerability, so users are advised to exercise caution when opening office documents from untrusted sources.

This is not the first time a major Microsoft office vulnerability has been discovered. In 2017, a similar vulnerability, dubbed “Equation Editor”, was discovered that affected all versions of Microsoft Office up to and including 2016. That vulnerability was patched by Microsoft within a month of its discovery.

Given the severity of the Follina vulnerability, it is likely that Microsoft will release a patch for it in the near future. In the meantime, the SpireTech NOC has applied system changes to SpireTech VIPsupport client systems to disable the mechanism used under the hood to exploit the vulnerability.  Clients are advised to always exercise caution when opening documents from untrusted sources.