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Microsoft Office EUVDEUVD-2026-99735

| CVE-2026-88197 HIGH
Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122)
2026-10-13 secure@microsoft.com GHSA-jf5c-jq6r-6c8f
8.8
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
    Craft malicious Office document
  2. Exploit
    Deliver via phishing email or web link
  3. Execution
    Victim opens file triggering heap overflow
  4. Impact
    Execute arbitrary code in user context

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 a user to open an attacker-crafted Office document (UI:R) that triggers the heap-based buffer overflow in Office's file parsing; no authentication or pre-existing privileges are needed (PR:N). Affected products span Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office LTSC 2021/2024, and Office for Mac (LTSC 2021/2024, Office 365 for Mac), so both Windows and macOS Office installations are in scope. The principal limiting factor is the mandatory user interaction - the victim must be convinced to open the malicious file - which means delivery depends on phishing or social engineering rather than unassisted remote exploitation; Protected View or blocking documents from untrusted sources further reduces real-world exposure.

Impact

This is a credible prioritization candidate but not a top-tier emergency based on current signals. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects network-deliverable, low-complexity, unauthenticated code execution with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact - the classic profile of a malicious-document attack in Microsoft Office. The single mitigating metric is UI:R (user interaction required), meaning a victim must open a crafted file; this is the primary brake on mass exploitability. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public POC is present in the provided data, so there is no evidence of active exploitation or available exploit code at time of analysis. The signals are therefore internally consistent (no conflict between CVSS and the description) but incomplete: high intrinsic severity and ubiquitous attack surface argue for prompt patching, while the absence of KEV/EPSS/POC means this is not yet a confirmed widespread-exploitation event. Office memory-corruption bugs with these characteristics are historically attractive to both commodity malware and targeted actors once a patch enables diffing, so the window between patch and exploitation can be short even without current POC evidence.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker emails or hosts a specially crafted Office document that, when opened by a user, triggers a heap-based buffer overflow in Office's file parser and runs attacker-controlled code in the context of the victim. Because exploitation requires the user to open the file (UI:R), delivery typically relies on phishing or social engineering rather than fully automated remote compromise. No public proof-of-concept or active exploitation is identified in the provided data.

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 13, 2026

Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the victim user, but only if that user is convinced to open a specially crafted document (CVSS 3.1: 8.8, AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Affected installations span Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office LTSC 2021 and 2024 on Windows, and Office LTSC 2021/2024 plus Office 365 for Mac, so both Windows and macOS environments are in scope. No public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation was identified at time of analysis, and the mandatory user interaction (UI:R) - together with Protected View and untrusted-document blocking - is the principal factor limiting real-world exposure; this is a credible prioritization candidate rather than a top-tier emergency on current signals. Microsoft has released vendor patches addressing the flaw.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 is fixed in 16.0.14334.20974 and Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 is fixed in 16.0.17932.21056, per the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-88197. Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise is patched through the standard Office update channel (see https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases) - because Click-to-Run installs update automatically, verify build levels across the fleet rather than assuming updates landed, and force updates for devices pinned to a deferred channel. Office for Mac (Office 365 for Mac, Office LTSC for Mac 2021/2024) must be updated via Microsoft AutoUpdate to the build published against this CVE. Where immediate patching is not possible, compensating controls should target the user-interaction precondition: enforce Protected View for files from the internet and other untrusted locations (blocks the parsing path but adds friction and can break legitimate workflows using files from network shares or email attachments), configure Attack Surface Reduction rules such as 'Block Office applications from creating child processes' and 'Block Win32 API calls from Office macros' in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (effective against post-exploitation payload delivery but not against the memory-corruption primitive itself, and may break line-of-business macros), and block or quarantine untrusted Office documents at the email gateway and download proxy (reduces phishing delivery but is defeated by user-supplied files from personal mail or removable media). Restricting the Office trust center to disallow documents from untrusted sources and disabling automatic macro execution complement these controls. Track any future public proof-of-concept development, since availability of exploit code would materially raise the priority of completing these updates.

Affected VersionsENISA

Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2024 16.0.0 <publication
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise 16.0.1 <https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021 16.0.1 <publication
Microsoft Office 365 for Mac 1.0.0 <publication
Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 16.0.1 <16.0.14334.20974
Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 16.0.0 <16.0.17932.21056

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 flaw is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in Microsoft Office's document/file parsing path. In this class of bug, a length or size value derived from attacker-controlled input is used to write past the end of a heap-allocated buffer, corrupting adjacent heap metadata and object pointers; successful corruption can be shaped into controlled memory writes and ultimately arbitrary code execution in the user's security context. Because the vulnerability sits in file parsing rather than in a network service, the attack surface is the document itself: the malicious file must be opened by a user on an affected Office build. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R) reflects network-deliverable exploitation with no authentication or prior privileges required, but with a mandatory user-interaction precondition. CPE-style version data from the EUVD entry identifies the affected Microsoft Office product families: Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (16.0.1, fixed via the Office security release channel at https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases), Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 (16.0.1 before 16.0.14334.20974), Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 (16.0.0 before 16.0.17932.21056), Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021 and 2024, and Microsoft Office 365 for Mac. The macOS builds are covered by Microsoft's Mac publication cycle rather than a discrete build number in the supplied data.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 8.8 HIGH

Malicious document is network-delivered (AV:N) and reliably parsed (AC:L) without auth (PR:N) but requires the victim to open it (UI:R), yielding full code-execution impact (C/I/A:H).

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/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
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Oct 13, 2026 - 20:20 EUVD
CVE Published
Oct 13, 2026 - 19:21 cve.org
HIGH 8.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A high-severity flaw in Microsoft Office could allow an unauthenticated attacker to run code as the victim if a user opens a malicious document, affecting organizations using Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise and Office LTSC 2021/2024 across both Windows and macOS. Although no public exploit identified at time of analysis, the broad install base and user-driven attack path mean a successful compromise could lead to data theft or system control, making timely remediation important. Leadership should direct teams to apply the available vendor patch and reinforce user vigilance, while noting that Protected View and untrusted-document blocking currently reduce exposure.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.5%
Top 56% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Microsoft Office is deployed across a huge fraction of enterprise and consumer endpoints
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:Exploitation Less Likely
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

45
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +44
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 heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.

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