Microsoft Releases Patch to Fix Excel Files -- Redmond Channel Partner

Microsoft Releases Patch to Fix Excel Files

By Scott Bekker
October 21, 1999

Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates two vulnerabilities in Excel 97 and 2000 that could allow macros to be run without warning under certain conditions.

The primary vulnerability addressed by this patch involves Excel Symbolic Link (SYLK) files. These files can contain macros, and if such a file were opened in Excel 97 or 2000, the macro could run without asking for the user's permission. These macros could take any action on the user's computer that the user could take.

The patch also deals with a vulnerability involving how Excel 97 imports macros created by Lotus 1-2-3 or Quattro Pro. When such a macro is imported, Excel 97 runs it without asking the user's permission. These macros could be used to delete files on the user's computer, but could take no other action.

The vulnerabilities affect Microsoft Excel 97, shipped alone or as part of Office 97 and Excel 2000, shipped alone or as part of Office 2000. The patch is currently available at http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloadDetails/Xl8p7pkg.htm for Excel 97 and at http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/2000/downloadDetails/XL9p1pkg.htm for Excel 2000.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

Microsoft Dismantles RedVDS Cybercrime Marketplace Linked to $40M in Phishing Fraud

In a coordinated action spanning the United States and the United Kingdom, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) and international law enforcement collaborators have taken down RedVDS, a subscription based cybercrime platform tied to an estimated $40 million in fraud losses in the U.S. since March 2025.
CrowdStrike's Acquisition of SGNL Aims to Strengthen Identity Security

CrowdStrike signs definitive agreement to purchase SGNL, an identity security specialist, in a deal valued at about $740 million.
Microsoft Acquires Osmos, Automating Data Engineering inside Fabric

In a strategic move to reduce time-consuming manual data preparation, Microsoft has acquired Seattle-based startup Osmos, specializing in agentic AI for data engineering.
Linux Foundation Unites Major Tech Firms to Launch Agentic AI Foundation

The Linux Foundation today announced the creation of a new collaborative initiative — the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) — bringing together major AI and cloud players such as Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and other major tech companies.