URL fetching can be used to exfiltrate arbitrary INI file values and environment variables
Fixed in Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16
Description
Apache OpenOffice documents can contain links. A missing Authorization vulnerability in Apache OpenOffice allowed an attacker to craft a document that would cause external links to be loaded without prompt. Such links could also be used to transmit system information, such as environment variables or configuration settings.
In the affected versions of Apache OpenOffice, documents that used a certain URI scheme linking to external files would load the contents of such files without prompting the user for permission to do so. Such URI scheme allows to include system configuration data, that is not supposed to be transmitted externally.
This issue affects Apache OpenOffice: through 4.1.15.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.1.16, which fixes the issue.
The LibreOffice suite reported this issue as CVE-2024-12426.
Severity: Moderate
There are no known exploits of this vulnerability.
Thanks to the reporter for discovering this issue.
Vendor: The Apache Software Foundation
Versions Affected
All Apache OpenOffice versions 4.1.15 and older are affected.
OpenOffice.org versions may also be affected.
Mitigation
Install Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16 for the latest maintenance and cumulative security fixes. Use the Apache OpenOffice download page.
Acknowledgements
The Apache OpenOffice Security Team would like to thank Thomas Rinsma of Codean Labs for discovering and reporting this issue.
Further Information
For additional information and assistance, consult the Apache OpenOffice Community Forums or make requests to the users@openoffice.apache.org public mailing list.
The latest information on Apache OpenOffice security bulletins can be found at the Bulletin Archive page.
