Skip to main content

Microsoft CVE-2014-1761

HIGH
Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)
2014-03-25 secure@microsoft.com
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V14 - Configuration Dependency management, component inventory
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

High risk. RTF documents were the preferred exploit delivery format for APT groups because they could bypass many email filtering solutions and were rendered by Outlook's preview pane, potentially triggering without full document opening.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A spear-phishing email with an RTF attachment is sent to government officials. Outlook's preview pane renders the RTF content, triggering the Word memory corruption and installing a persistent backdoor without the user explicitly opening the attachment.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: In CISA KEV with patch available.
Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) Patch available 93.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 26, 2026

Microsoft Word 2003 through 2013 contain a memory corruption vulnerability in RTF file parsing that allows remote code execution, exploited as a zero-day in targeted attacks against government and military organizations.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 26, 2026 - 11:18 CVSS 7.8

A memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Word's RTF parsing engine allows remote code execution through crafted RTF documents. Exploited as a zero-day, this affected Word across multiple versions including the Mac platform.

RemediationAI

Apply Microsoft security update MS14-017. Disable RTF rendering in Outlook. Configure Office to open RTF files in Protected View. Block RTF files at email gateways.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The CWE-787 out-of-bounds write occurs when Word parses certain RTF control words with malformed parameters. The corruption in the heap allows attackers to overwrite adjacent objects and hijack execution flow. RTF files were particularly dangerous because Outlook used Word as its email renderer.

Know when the next one hits your stack

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Added to CISA KEV
Oct 22, 2025 - 01:15 cisa
CISA KEV
PoC Detected
Oct 22, 2025 - 01:15 vuln.today
Public exploit code
Patch released
Oct 22, 2025 - 01:15 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Mar 25, 2014 - 13:24 nvd
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Microsoft Word 2003 SP3, 2007 SP3, 2010 SP1 and SP2, 2013, and 2013 RT; Word Viewer; Office Compatibility Pack SP3; Office for Mac 2011; Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP1 and SP2 and 2013; Office Web Apps 2010 SP1 and SP2; and Office Web Apps Server 2013 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via crafted RTF data, as exploited in the wild in March 2014.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2014-1761 presents notable security risk, a out-of-bounds write vulnerability rated CVSS 7.8. Exploitation could allow attackers to corrupt memory, crash the application, or potentially execute arbitrary code. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (KEV-listed) and requires immediate remediation. A patch is available and should be applied as part of regular vulnerability management.

Business Impact: Severe
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Enable ASLR and DEP where available; (2) Implement network segmentation; (3) Monitor for exploitation indicators.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Threat Score
9.4/10
Composite threat intelligence
EPSS Score
93.1%
Top 0% exploitable
Threat Intel
2
1 sources
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
8 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV Yes
Public POC Yes
EPSS 93.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
In CISA KEV with patch available
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Out-of-Cycle
Exploitation· derived
Active
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
Very High

Priority Score

227
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: +50
EPSS: +93
CVSS: +39
PoC: +20
Weaponized: +15
Threat intel: +10
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2011:*:*:*:*:macos:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_compatibility_pack:-:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_web_apps:2010:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_web_apps:2010:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_web_apps_server:2013:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:sharepoint_server:2010:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:sharepoint_server:2010:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:sharepoint_server:2013:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2003:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2007:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2010:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2010:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2013:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2013:*:*:*:rt:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2013:sp1:*:*:-:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2013:sp1:*:*:rt:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word_viewer:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Threat IntelligenceMISP

Threat Actors
Inception
ATT&CK Techniques (observed)
Sources: MITRE ATT&CK, Metasploit/Nuclei

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy