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Microsoft Exchange Online EUVDEUVD-2026-108540

| CVE-2026-96185 HIGH
Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121)
2026-10-22 microsoft GHSA-p369-hr2h-46vj
7.5
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
    Authenticate with low-privilege account
  2. Delivery
    Send crafted network request
  3. Exploit
    Overflow stack-based buffer (CWE-121)
  4. Execution
    Execute arbitrary code
  5. Impact
    Compromise confidentiality, integrity and availability

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Stack buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution

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

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires an authenticated, low-privileged account on Microsoft Exchange Online (CVSS PR:L) and a network path to the service (AV:N); no user interaction is needed (UI:N). The high attack complexity (AC:H) means success depends on conditions beyond the attacker's direct control, though the available sources do not describe what those conditions are or how the stack overflow is triggered. Because Exchange Online is a vendor-hosted cloud service, the attack surface and remediation are controlled by Microsoft rather than by on-premises configuration; the trigger mechanism is not described in the available sources. The limiting factors reducing realistic risk are the required authentication and the high complexity.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.5 (High), but the temporal signals temper real-world urgency: E:U (Exploit Code Maturity: Unproven) indicates no functional exploit is known, RL:O confirms an official fix is available, and RC:C marks the report as Confirmed. The vector combines network reach (AV:N) and high impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) with two meaningful brakes - AC:H (high attack complexity) and PR:L (the attacker must already be authenticated). No EPSS score was provided, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified, and there is no CISA KEV listing and no PoC reference in the input, consistent with the E:U rating. The vuln.today decision label is 'this_week' rather than act_now/emergency, aligning with a serious-but-not-actively-exploited profile. Net assessment: this is a genuine high-severity code-execution flaw worth patching promptly, but the combination of required authentication, high complexity, and absence of any exploitation evidence places it below drop-everything priority. One structural caveat: Microsoft Exchange Online is a vendor-operated cloud service, so remediation is largely applied by Microsoft server-side rather than by customer administrators - verify your tenant's exposure and the applicable guidance in the MSRC advisory.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who already holds valid (low-privilege) credentials to the Exchange Online environment sends specially crafted network input that overflows a fixed-size stack buffer in the affected component, corrupting the stack to achieve code execution. The high attack complexity (AC:H) implies the attacker must satisfy conditions beyond their direct control for the overflow to succeed reliably. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 22, 2026

Network code execution in Microsoft Exchange Online is possible for an authenticated low-privileged user through a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121), rated CVSS 3.1 7.5 High with AC:H. Microsoft reports a vendor fix is available; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the temporal metrics mark exploit code maturity as Unproven (E:U) with an official fix available (RL:O). Because Exchange Online is a Microsoft-hosted cloud service, exposure and remediation are controlled by Microsoft rather than by on-premises configuration; the vuln.today decision label is this_week.

RemediationAI

Patch available per vendor advisory: Microsoft's MSRC update guide at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96185 is the authoritative remediation reference. The input does not provide an exact fixed build or version number, so administrators should follow the MSRC guidance and confirm service-side remediation for their Exchange Online tenant; because Exchange Online is vendor-hosted, Microsoft deploys the fix rather than the customer applying an on-premises patch. The supplied data does not list specific workarounds or compensating controls.

Affected VersionsENISA

Microsoft Exchange Online - (version not specified)

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 issue is a CWE-121 stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Exchange Online, identified by the vendor CPE cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:microsoft_exchange_online:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* with a wildcard version field. The assessed CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H: network reachable, requiring an authenticated low-privileged account, with no user interaction; AC:H means success depends on conditions beyond the attacker's direct control, but the supplied sources do not describe the trigger mechanism or those conditions. Exchange Online is vendor-hosted, so the CPE does not identify a customer-managed on-premises build; the supplied tags classify the flaw as Buffer Overflow, Microsoft, and Stack Overflow, and the reported-by source is Microsoft. The underlying Exchange Online component and exact input path are not described in the available data.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Network-reachable (AV:N) but requires authentication (PR:L) and hard-to-meet conditions (AC:H); stack overflow yielding code execution gives full C:H/I:H/A:H with no scope change (S:U).

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

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

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

DescriptionCVE.org

Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Exchange Online allows an authorized attacker to execute code over a network.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2026-96185) in Microsoft Exchange Online could allow an authenticated low-privileged user to execute code on the network, potentially compromising email security and data integrity. While no public exploit has been identified, leadership should prioritize this due to the criticality of email services and the availability of a vendor fix, ensuring timely remediation to prevent any potential disruption or breach.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.5%
Top 55% exploitable
Prevalence
High
Microsoft's enterprise cloud email service, deployed across many organizations
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:N/A
Social Media
2
Sightings
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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.5%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +38
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.

A stack-based buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a buffer located on the stack than it was allocated to hold.

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