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Microsoft Excel EUVDEUVD-2026-99809

| CVE-2026-97750 HIGH
Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121)
2026-10-13 secure@microsoft.com GHSA-j9f6-qr43-hjvf
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
    Deliver malicious .xlsx via phishing
  2. Delivery
    Victim opens file in Excel
  3. Exploit
    Overflow corrupts parser stack
  4. Execution
    Execute code as current user
  5. Impact
    Install payload or move laterally

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 the victim to open an attacker-crafted Excel document (UI:R) in an affected build - e.g. Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office LTSC 2021/2024, Office LTSC/365 for Mac, or Office Online Server below the fixed versions listed in EUVD-2026-99809. No authentication or pre-existing privileges on the target are needed (PR:N), and no special non-default configuration is indicated. The primary limiting factor is the mandatory user interaction: the attack cannot succeed without a user opening the malicious file, and Protected View / Mark-of-the-Web sandboxing on files from untrusted sources further constrains real-world exploitation.

Impact

This is a genuine high-priority vulnerability, though not an emergency. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 8.8) describes a network-deliverable, low-complexity, unauthenticated code-execution flaw whose only brake is required user interaction - the victim must open a malicious Excel document. This is the classic Office client-side RCE profile, consistent with the description ('execute code over a network') and CWE-121 (stack-based buffer overflow). No EPSS score was provided, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified from the input. The vulnerability is NOT in CISA KEV and no public POC is referenced, so there is no evidence of active exploitation or available exploit code at time of analysis - this materially lowers immediate risk relative to a KEV-listed bug. The signals are internally consistent (no CVSS-vs-description conflict), but note that UI:R means real-world exploitation depends on social engineering rather than fully autonomous spread, so this is unlikely to be wormable. Treat as a priority patch due to Excel's enormous footprint and HIGH triple impact, but absent KEV/POC/EPSS data it does not warrant drop-everything emergency response over other patched, non-exploited client-side flaws.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts a malicious Excel spreadsheet that triggers a stack-based buffer overflow when parsed, then delivers it via phishing email, a shared drive, or a download link. When the targeted user opens the file in a vulnerable version of Excel, the overflow overwrites the stack and executes attacker-controlled code in the context of the user. No public exploit code or active exploitation is identified at time of analysis.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026

Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Excel enables remote code execution against affected builds when a victim opens an attacker-crafted spreadsheet; the memory-corruption flaw is rated CVSS 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), so no credentials or prior access are needed, but successful exploitation hinges entirely on the target user opening the malicious document. Exposure spans Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office LTSC 2021 and LTSC 2024 on Windows, Office LTSC 2021/2024 and Office 365 for Mac, and Office Online Server running builds below the fixed versions enumerated in ENISA EUVD-2026-99809. No public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation was identified at time of analysis, and Microsoft has published a vendor fix through its Update Guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97750), which keeps this a high-priority but manageable patch-now item rather than an emergency.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor patch: Microsoft has released fixes referenced from the Microsoft Security Response Center advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97750 (tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2026-99809), with the minimum fixed builds being 16.0.10417.20228 for Office Online Server, 16.0.14334.20974 for Office LTSC 2021, and 16.0.17932.21056 for Office LTSC 2024; Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise should be brought to the current release listed at https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases, and the Mac editions (Office LTSC for Mac 2021/2024 and Office 365 for Mac) must be updated via Microsoft AutoUpdate since no fixed build number is published in the EUVD feed. Where patching cannot be completed immediately, compensating controls that materially raise the bar are: keep Protected View enabled for all three scenarios (files from the Internet, unsafe locations, and Outlook attachments) so a crafted workbook lands in the sandbox rather than the full Excel process - the trade-off is user friction and the fact that Protected View protections can be defeated if Mark-of-the-Web is stripped (e.g., when files are extracted from archives or copied from some network shares), so pair it with mail-gateway/file-share policies that preserve or re-apply MOTW and block inbound Excel attachments from untrusted senders, accepting the corresponding loss of legitimate attachment workflow; for high-risk users, open untrusted spreadsheets inside an isolated or disposable environment such as Defender Application Guard for Office or a hardened VDI/Virtual Machine, which contains the blast radius but adds latency and session-management overhead; and for the Office Online Server component, restrict or temporarily suspend public-facing document rendering and preview endpoints until the OOS build is upgraded, since that is the one affected product that is server-side and directly reachable over the network. Note also the assessed prerequisite that exploitation cannot occur without a user opening the malicious file, so user-awareness messaging about unsolicited spreadsheets remains a useful, if non-substitutable, layer.

Affected VersionsENISA

Office Online Server 16.0.0.0 <16.0.10417.20228
Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 16.0.1 <16.0.14334.20974
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2024 16.0.0 <publication
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021 16.0.1 <publication
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise 16.0.1 <https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office 365 for Mac 1.0.0 <publication
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
euvd office_online_server fix: 16.0.10417.20228

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 3 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 root cause is CWE-121, a stack-based buffer overflow: Excel's file-parsing code copies attacker-controlled data derived from a crafted spreadsheet into a fixed-length buffer on the stack without adequate bounds validation, allowing adjacent stack memory - including saved return addresses and control data - to be overwritten and execution flow to be redirected to attacker-supplied code. Because the flaw lives in document parsing rather than in a network-facing service, the CVSS vector's AV:N reflects remote delivery of the malicious file (email attachment, download, or hosted share) while UI:R captures the mandatory user action of opening it; AC:L with PR:N means a reliably triggerable, unauthenticated attack once that interaction occurs, and S:U indicates the resulting code execution inherits the Excel process context rather than crossing a security scope boundary. The CPE/product data place the vulnerability in multiple update channels of the same Office codebase: the perpetual Office LTSC 2021 (16.0.1 < 16.0.14334.20974) and LTSC 2024 (16.0.0 < 16.0.17932.21056) builds, the subscription Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (16.0.1, patched per https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases), Office Online Server 16.0.0.0 (< 16.0.10417.20228), and the Mac editions (Office LTSC 2021/2024 and Office 365 for Mac), which are serviced through Microsoft AutoUpdate rather than fixed MSI build numbers. Tags classify this alongside other Microsoft (Office) buffer-overflow issues, and ENISA tracks it as EUVD-2026-99809.

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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

File is network-delivered (AV:N) and parsed with no privileges (PR:N) but requires the user to open it (UI:R); memory-corruption RCE yields full 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:A/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 - 19:22 cve.org
HIGH 8.8

DescriptionCVE.org

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

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A critical memory-corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel (CVE-2026-97750) allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on affected Windows and macOS systems when a user opens a malicious spreadsheet. Because Excel is ubiquitous across Microsoft 365 Apps, Office LTSC, and Office Online Server, any employee who opens an infected attachment or download could trigger a full system compromise. While no public exploit identified at time of analysis, the broad exposure and remote-code-execution potential make this a high-priority patching item for IT and security teams.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.7%
Top 47% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Microsoft Excel is deployed in nearly all enterprise environments
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 0.7%
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 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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