Security considerations when opening documents

users
#1

Greetings,

I have a general question about security.

Not counting possible programming errors (such as buffer overflows), is it
secure to open *any* document with LibreOffice (with any of its components,
like Writer or Calc)?

Or is there a protocol by which a document could cause harmful code to be
executed? If so, can it be switched off?

I receive a lot of documents by e-mail from all different sources. I'm
wondering whether I should take additional precautions before opening them
with LibreOffice.

Thank you!
Lasse

#2

Hi Lasse,
As far as I know only macros can really cause anything harmful. So if you're settings are the default (disable macros) you're in the clear or if you're settings are that you confirm every macro that is run, then just be aware of who sends these documents to you.

Others probably know more but this is my understanding.

All the best,
Joel

#3

Or is there a protocol by which a document could cause harmful code to be

executed?

The only thing I'm aware of, will cause the Blue Screen of Death in
Windows, when the document is opened with Microsoft Word. I haven't
tested it with Win8 and the version of Word released specifically for
Win8. It does cause Win7 and Word 2010 to crash.

The same document will not cause Windows system to crash, when opened
with LibO, or OOo, or AOo.

If so, can it be switched off?

For the phenomena I describe, the only defence is to ban Microsoft
Office from your Windows system.

jonathon