Microsoft Office: security vulnerability (CVE-2008-3068)
Published Sources: CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
Microsoft Crypto API 5.131.2600.2180 through 6.0, as used in Outlook, Windows Live Mail, and Office 2007, performs Certificate Revocation List (CRL) checks by using an arbitrary URL from a certificate embedded in a (1) S/MIME e-mail message or (2) signed document, which allows remote attackers to obtain reading times and IP addresses of recipients, and port-scan results, via a crafted certificate with an Authority Information Access (AIA) extension.
The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.
- Affected
- Microsoft Access
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Excel
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft Excel
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Frontpage
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft Groove
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft InfoPath
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft InfoPath
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Office
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Office Communicator
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft OneNote
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft Outlook
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft Outlook
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft PowerPoint
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft PowerPoint
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Project Professional
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Project Standard
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Publisher
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft Publisher
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft SharePoint Designer
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Visio Professional
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Visio Standard
eq 2007..2007 - Microsoft Windows Live Mail
eq 2008..2008
- Microsoft Access
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Metrics
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Priority
No value is available for this vulnerability.
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CVSS v3
No value is available for this vulnerability.
17.4 %
EPSS score
Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 97.1
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Not rated
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 75.43 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 17.4 %
- Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 97.1
- Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
Microsoft Crypto API 5.131.2600.2180 through 6.0, as used in Outlook, Windows Live Mail, and Office 2007, performs Certificate Revocation List (CRL) checks by using an arbitrary URL from a certificate embedded in a (1) S/MIME e-mail message or (2) signed document, which allows remote attackers to obtain reading times and IP addresses of recipients, and port-scan results, via a crafted certificate with an Authority Information Access (AIA) extension.
Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| microsoft | access |
|
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| microsoft | excel |
|
|
| microsoft | frontpage |
|
|
| microsoft | groove |
|
|
| microsoft | infopath |
|
|
| microsoft | office |
|
|
| microsoft | office_communicator |
|
|
| microsoft | onenote |
|
|
| microsoft | outlook |
|
|
| microsoft | powerpoint |
|
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| microsoft | project_professional |
|
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| microsoft | project_standard |
|
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| microsoft | publisher |
|
|
| microsoft | sharepoint_designer |
|
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| microsoft | visio_professional |
|
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| microsoft | visio_standard |
|
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| microsoft | windows_live_mail |
|
|
Vendors and products
- Microsoft Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Microsoft Frontpage
- Microsoft Microsoft Groove
- Microsoft Microsoft Infopath
- Microsoft Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Microsoft Office Communicator
- Microsoft Microsoft OneNote
- Microsoft Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Microsoft Publisher
- Microsoft Microsoft SharePoint Designer
References & sources
- cynops.deadvisories/AKLINK-SA-2008-003.txtx_refsource_MISC
- securityreason.com3978Third-party advisory, x_refsource_SREASON
- securityfocus.com20080709 Re: Unauthorized reading confirmation from OutlookMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
- securityfocus.com28548Vulnerability database, x_refsource_BID
- klink.namesecurity/aklink-sa-2008-004-office2007-signatures.txtx_refsource_MISC
- cynops.deadvisories/AKLINK-SA-2008-002.txtx_refsource_MISC
- cynops.deadvisories/AKLINK-SA-2008-004.txtx_refsource_MISC
- securitytracker.com1019736Vulnerability database, x_refsource_SECTRACK
- securitytracker.com1019738Vulnerability database, x_refsource_SECTRACK
- klink.namesecurity/aklink-sa-2008-003-live-mail-smime.txtx_refsource_MISC
- klink.namesecurity/aklink-sa-2008-002-outlook-smime.txtx_refsource_MISC
- securitytracker.com1019737Vulnerability database, x_refsource_SECTRACK
- cynops.detechzone/http_over_x509.htmlx_refsource_MISC
- securityfocus.com20080703 Unauthorized reading confirmation from OutlookMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2008-3068"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2008-3068.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2008-3068 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>