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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Craft malicious PowerPoint file
  2. Delivery
    Deliver via email or share
  3. Exploit
    Victim opens presentation
  4. Execution
    Trigger heap overflow in Office parser
  5. Persist
    Corrupt heap and hijack control flow
  6. Impact
    Execute code as current user

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap 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 the victim to open an attacker-supplied malicious PowerPoint/Office presentation file - user interaction (UI:R) is mandatory and is the primary limiting factor. No authentication or prior privileges are needed on the target (PR:N), and no special product configuration is required beyond a default, unpatched Office/PowerPoint install on Windows or macOS. Exploitation is limited by the need for social engineering to deliver and open the file, by Office Protected View which sandboxes internet-origin documents, and by the code running only at the current user's privilege level (Scope:Unchanged, no automatic privilege escalation).

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H yields 7.8 (High): local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, but mandatory user interaction, with high impact to all three security properties. AV:L combined with UI:R is the standard 'user opens a malicious document' pattern - the attacker does not need network reachability or credentials, but does need the victim to open the file. No EPSS score was supplied, the CVE is not in CISA KEV, and no POC is referenced, so this reads as a real-but-not-emergency patch-cycle priority rather than an actively exploited threat. The main uncertainty is that no EPSS/POC signal is available to gauge exploitation likelihood; the high prevalence of Office means it remains an attractive phishing payload despite the required user interaction.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker emails or shares a specially crafted PowerPoint presentation and lures a user into opening it, for example as a fake meeting deck or invoice slide. When PowerPoint parses the malformed structure, the heap overflow corrupts memory and executes attacker-supplied code in the user's security context. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis, and the local vector plus required user interaction (AV:L/UI:R) mean success depends on social engineering the victim into opening the file.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: Active threat signals + CRITICAL/HIGH severity.
Patch available 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jul 14, 2026

Arbitrary code execution in Microsoft PowerPoint (and the broader Microsoft Office/365 suite on Windows and macOS) arises from a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) triggered when a victim opens a maliciously crafted presentation file. An attacker who cannot log in to the target can still run code in the context of the current user by convincing that user to open the booby-trapped file, giving full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the affected host. Microsoft has released a patch; there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the flaw is not listed in CISA KEV.

RemediationAI

Apply the Microsoft-released security update for your Office channel - patch availability is confirmed by the vendor, though exact fixed build numbers were not provided in this data set; obtain them from the advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-55120 and deploy via Microsoft Update, Click-to-Run, or your patch-management pipeline. Until patched, reduce exposure by enabling Protected View / Office Protected View for files originating from the internet and email (which opens untrusted presentations in a sandbox at the cost of blocking editing until the user opts in), blocking or quarantining .ppt/.pptx/.ppsx attachments at the mail gateway, and using Attack Surface Reduction rules to limit Office child-process creation (which can break legitimate macros or add-ins). User awareness against opening unsolicited presentation files is a supporting control.

Affected VersionsENISA

Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 16.0.1 <https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office 2019 19.0.0 <https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 16.0.0 <https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021 16.0.1 <16.111.26071215
Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 16.0.0 <16.0.5561.1000
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2024 16.0.0 <16.111.26071215
Microsoft Office 365 for Mac 1.0.0 <16.111.26071215
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise 16.0.1 <https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases

Affected Packages

euvd microsoft_office_365_for_mac fix: 16.111.26071215
euvd microsoft_office_ltsc_for_mac_2021 fix: 16.111.26071215
euvd microsoft_office_ltsc_for_mac_2024 fix: 16.111.26071215
euvd microsoft_powerpoint_2016 fix: 16.0.5561.1000

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 4 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 affected component is the file-parsing engine of Microsoft PowerPoint, shipped across Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021/2024, PowerPoint 2016, and the corresponding Office for Mac / Office LTSC for Mac 2021/2024 builds (per the provided CPE list). CWE-122 (heap-based buffer overflow) indicates the parser allocates a heap buffer and then writes past its bounds - typically because a length or count field embedded in the presentation file is trusted without validation against the actual allocation. Overwriting adjacent heap metadata or object pointers lets an attacker corrupt memory and ultimately hijack control flow to execute native code within the Office process.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
ENISA EUVD CRITICAL
vuln.today AI 7.8 HIGH

File must be opened locally by a user (AV:L, UI:R) with no prior privileges (PR:N); memory-corruption code execution grants full C/I/A impact within the user context.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

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

DescriptionCVE.org

Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office PowerPoint allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Microsoft PowerPoint and Office 365 (Windows and macOS) contain a critical arbitrary code execution vulnerability (CVE-2026-55120, CVSS 7.8) triggered by opening maliciously crafted presentation files. This grants full system compromise to any attacker who can trick a user into opening a file. A vendor patch is available; no public exploit is currently identified.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 73% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Microsoft Office/PowerPoint deployed across the vast majority of enterprise endpoints
EU Gov Alert
Listed
Top-tier national CERT alert
Threat Intel
2
1 sources
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:Exploitation Less Likely
Data Quality
6 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 No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
Active threat signals + CRITICAL/HIGH severity
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
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

59
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: +20

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 heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.

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