How Powerful is VBA?

[AtlBo]

Reading a post from @public enemy about 50 potentially dangerous executable extensions here:

50+ File Extensions That Are Potentially Dangerous on Windows

I have see the videos, so I know MS Office VBA can wreck a system. However, I am curious what exactly is capable within the VBA language with regards to invoking elements of Windows. OK, yeah, it can delete files, that I understand. Is the biggest danger with VBA that it can be used to download a more powerful script and then can be used to initiate the script?

BTW, I see that Open Office and LibreOffice use several languages, including Java, Javascript, and Python. I suppose this means these languages are capable of reaching greater depths in Windows. Guess we should watch out for open document formats.

 

[AtlBo]

I guess the solution is to be careful and not just trust files for MS Office/other similar software because features within them (like macro's) can be abused too.

Thx. I wonder if this could happen:

Office doc, say Word, contains hidden text. VBA macro uses the text in the file to create a file with the .js file extension and then executes then file. Any idea if this can happen i.e. no internet connection? Not sure if it's possible to create an executable file with VBA.