Microsoft
CVE-2014-1761
HIGH
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A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components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. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – 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)
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.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
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
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.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
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.
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
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
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.
NVD
CVE.org
CISA KEV
EPSS
Exploit-DB
VulDB
GitHub PoC