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Microsoft Excel EUVDEUVD-2026-100186

| CVE-2026-88195 MEDIUM
Buffer Over-read (CWE-126)
2026-10-13 secure@microsoft.com GHSA-3f28-q268-hccq
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: microsoft
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Deliver crafted Excel file via email
  2. Delivery
    Victim opens malicious spreadsheet
  3. Exploit
    Trigger buffer over-read in Excel parser
  4. Execution
    Leak adjacent memory contents
  5. Impact
    Exfiltrate disclosed information to attacker

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Buffer over-read prevention
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the victim to open an attacker-supplied, specially crafted Excel spreadsheet in an affected build of Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office LTSC 2024 (before 16.0.17932.21056), or Office LTSC 2021 (before 16.0.14334.20974); the malformed file triggers a buffer over-read during parsing. The primary limiting factor is the required user interaction (UI:R) - there is no drive-by or server-side auto-exploitation path - and the impact is confined to disclosure of in-process memory (C:H only, no code execution or file modification). No special Excel configuration or feature toggle is named in the advisory; the flaw is in default document-parsing behavior, so Protected View / Mark-of-the-Web mitigations that block automatic content execution reduce but do not necessarily eliminate exposure.

Impact

This is a moderate-severity information disclosure flaw (CVSS 6.5) rather than a top-priority emergency. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R) describes a network-deliverable, unauthenticated, low-complexity attack, but the mandatory user interaction (UI:R) means a victim must open a crafted Excel file, which substantially lowers real-world exploitability. Impact is confidentiality-only (C:H/I:N/A:N) via a buffer over-read (CWE-126), so there is no code execution or integrity/availability loss. All exploitation signals point low: CISA SSVC rates Exploitation as 'none', Automatable as 'no', and Technical Impact as only 'partial'; there is no CISA KEV listing and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. EPSS is not provided in the input, so the statistical exploitation probability is unknown and cannot be weighed. The signals are mutually consistent (high CVSS confidentiality impact offset by required user interaction and no observed exploitation), with no contradictions - the 'network' attack vector is consistent with a document-opening scenario where the malicious file arrives via email or a web download. Overall this is a 'high-exposure product, low current exploitation pressure' issue: patch on a normal cycle, not an out-of-band emergency.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker emails or hosts a specially crafted Excel spreadsheet and lures a user into opening it; when Excel parses the malformed structure it reads beyond an allocated buffer and leaks adjacent memory contents (potentially heap data such as pointers or document fragments) back to the attacker. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified, and successful attack depends on the victim opening the file (UI:R).

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.6% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026

A buffer over-read in Microsoft Excel's document-parsing code allows an unauthorized attacker to disclose information over a network when a victim opens a specially crafted spreadsheet. Affected builds are Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 before 16.0.17932.21056, and Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 before 16.0.14334.20974; per the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) the attacker needs no authentication or privileges but must convince the user to open the malicious file, and the impact is limited to memory disclosure (no code execution or data modification). Exploitation status is not confirmed: CISA SSVC records exploitation as 'none' and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and EPSS/KEV data were not provided, so this is not treated as an emergency patch item - this is a moderate-severity information disclosure flaw (CVSS 6.5) rather than a top-priority emergency, though the vendor has released fixes.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor-released patch: update Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise through the standard Office update channel (https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases), upgrade Office LTSC 2024 to 16.0.17932.21056 or later, and Office LTSC 2021 to 16.0.14334.20974 or later, following the guidance in the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-88195. Where immediate patching is not possible, the most effective compensating controls target the UI:R delivery precondition: block or quarantine untrusted spreadsheet attachments at the email and web gateways, keep Protected View for files originating from the internet and Mark-of-the-Web enforcement enabled, and configure Office to open files from untrusted locations in Protected View or Read-Only - with the trade-off that these weaken the attack path but do not repair the underlying parser, since the flaw sits in default document parsing and a user who explicitly enables editing could still trigger it. Additional risk reduction can come from restricting macro and ActiveX execution via Group Policy and from detaching high-value systems from casual spreadsheet opening workflows, but these are secondary to patch deployment. Because the impact is memory disclosure rather than code execution, exploitation is more likely an information-gathering step in a broader campaign than an end goal, so prioritize patch rollout by exposure (users who routinely open external spreadsheets) rather than emergency outage-driven patching.

Affected VersionsENISA

Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise 16.0.1 <https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 16.0.0 <16.0.17932.21056
Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 16.0.1 <16.0.14334.20974

Affected Packages

euvd microsoft_office_ltsc_2021 fix: 16.0.14334.20974
euvd microsoft_office_ltsc_2024 fix: 16.0.17932.21056

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability is a classic out-of-bounds read (CWE-126, buffer over-read) in Microsoft Office Excel's file parsing logic, per the vendor advisory from the Microsoft Security Response Center. When Excel parses a malformed spreadsheet, a length or offset field is trusted without adequate bounds validation, causing the parser to read past the end of an allocated buffer; the over-read content - in-process memory such as heap or stack data - is then surfaced in a way the attacker can observe, yielding information disclosure rather than memory corruption. Because the CWE is a read-only out-of-bounds condition, there is no write primitive and therefore no direct path to remote code execution, which is consistent with the assessed vector's Confidentiality:High / Integrity:None / Availability:None profile. The affected code is the default document parser of the Office desktop client, so no particular add-in, macro setting, or feature toggle is implicated - the flaw lives in normal spreadsheet handling. The CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R with Scope:Unchanged indicates a network-deliverable file (e.g., email attachment, web download, or shared network location) that requires the target user to open it locally; the ENISA EUVD entry (EUVD-2026-100186) tracks the same affected product set: Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Microsoft Office LTSC 2024, and Microsoft Office LTSC 2021. No CPE strings were supplied, but the EUVD version ranges define the exposure precisely by build number.

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
vuln.today AI 6.5 MEDIUM

Crafted file is network-deliverable and needs no privileges (AV:N/PR:N) but requires the victim to open it (UI:R); over-read leaks memory so C:H with no integrity or availability impact.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

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

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Oct 13, 2026 - 20:20 EUVD
CVE Published
Oct 13, 2026 - 19:21 cve.org
MEDIUM 6.5

DescriptionCVE.org

Buffer over-read in Microsoft Office Excel allows an unauthorized attacker to disclose information over a network.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.6%
Top 51% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Microsoft Excel/Office, near-universal across enterprise and consumer desktops
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:Exploitation Unlikely
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.6%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

33
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
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.

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