Microsoft closes another door to attackers by blocking Excel XLL files from the internet
"When organizations like Microsoft reduce the attack surface or otherwise increase the effort required to execute an attack on their product offerings, it forces threat actors to explore alternate avenues," Storie said."This often leads to exploring previously known, perhaps less ideal, options for threat actors to achieve their objectives."
Even before this year, some researchers were seeing miscreants make their way to XLL files. Researchers with HP's Wolf Securitythat in Q4 2021, there was a 588 percent year-over-year jump in attackers using the files to compromise systems, adding that they expected the trend to continue in 2022, though it was unclear at the time if Excel add-ins would replace Office macros as the cyber-weapon of choice.
XLL files are a type of DLL file that are only opened in Excel and enable third-party applications to add more functionality to spreadsheets. In Excel, if a user wants to open a file with a .XLL extension in Windows Explorer, the system will automatically try to launch Excel and open the file, triggering Excel to display a warning about possible dangerous code, similar to that shown when an Office document containing VBA macro code is opened.
"To steal a typical infosec buzzword, the best way to think of these are like 'next-gen' macro attacks," Barratt said."As with many of these types of attacks, the best position for the software to take is to disable the capability and have a prompt-and-alert process. The challenge is that over time we see the 'are you sure, you're sure' fatigue set in.
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