"Microsoft Publishes Office Symbols to Improve Bug Hunting"

Microsoft Office has started publishing Office symbols for Windows to help bug hunters find and report security issues.  Microsoft noted that symbols are pieces of information used during debugging and are contained within Symbol files, which are created by the compiler during application build.  Starting August 9, Microsoft Office is publishing stripped symbol files via the Microsoft Public Symbol Server to provide security researchers with additional information when hunting for bugs in Office products and to help them create more detailed reports.  Microsoft noted that symbols empower customers and partners to better understand and potentially diagnose issues they are encountering.  Microsoft said they also open the door to developing more advanced performance tools and insights.  According to Microsoft Office, symbols can be used by hardware and software vendors for diagnostics purposes, as well as by performance test suites, to deliver more tailored performance reporting.  Microsoft says it will publish new symbols on a continuing basis as new builds are released.

SecurityWeek reports: "Microsoft Publishes Office Symbols to Improve Bug Hunting"