The Microsoft Office 2008 12.2.4 Update addresses seven security vulnerabilities surrounding maliciously crafted Excel files that could enable an attacker to run arbitrary code and gain system user rights; accounts with administrative rights are at a greater risk than accounts with fewer privileges. The update addresses these issues by changing the way certain Excel files are parsed.

Additionally, the update fixes several performance issues with Microsoft Excel 2008 for Mac, including the resolution of unexpected crashes from the presence of a corrupt font, the insertion of a row or value into a calculated column, and dragging the scroll bar when the program is displaying trendlines. Also, slow performance with several print drivers under Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard has been improved, and content imported from text files will now be formatted correctly.

The update is rated Important for Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac and requires that you've previously installed the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.2.3 Update. The update is available from Microsoft's Web site and via the Office 2008 version of Microsoft AutoUpdate. (Free update, 221.5 MB)