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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2015-0086

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-03-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Microsoft Word 2007 SP3, Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Word 2013 Gold and SP1, Word 2013 RT Gold and SP1, Word Viewer, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2013 Gold and SP1, Web Applications 2010 SP2, and Web Apps Server 2013 Gold and SP1 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted RTF document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability."

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word and Office products when parsing malformed RTF (Rich Text Format) documents. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into opening specially crafted RTF files, leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches MS15-033 (for affected Office/Word versions) and ensure users do not open untrusted RTF documents from unknown sources.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2010
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Web Apps ServerApplication
Affected:= 2013
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013
Web ApplicationsApplication
Affected:= 2010
WordApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013
Word ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Microsoft Word version
    Open Word, go to File > Account > About Word, or run 'winword /?' from command prompt, or check in Control Panel > Programs and Features > Microsoft Office/Microsoft Word
    Affected if Version is 2007, 2010, or 2013 (check exact version number against the affected versions listed)
  2. Check installed Microsoft Office suite version
    Open any Office app, go to File > Account > About, or check Control Panel > Programs and Features > Microsoft Office
    Affected if Version is 2010 specifically (based on the affected versions listed)
  3. Check Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack version
    Check Control Panel > Programs and Features for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint' version, or check Program Files for the version info
    Affected if Any version is installed (all versions affected)
  4. Check Microsoft Word Viewer installation
    Check Control Panel > Programs and Features for 'Microsoft Word Viewer' or run 'wordview.exe /?'
    Affected if Any version is installed (all versions affected)
  5. Check SharePoint Server version
    Check Central Administration > System Settings > Manage servers in this farm, or check installed programs for Microsoft SharePoint Server
    Affected if Version is 2010 or 2013 (specific versions listed)
  6. Check Office Web Apps / Web Applications Server version
    Check installed programs or server administration console for Microsoft Office Web Apps Server 2013 or Microsoft Web Applications 2010
    Affected if Version is 2013 (Office Web Apps) or 2010 (Web Applications)

Your environment is affected if any of the above products are installed in the specific versions listed (2007, 2010, 2013 for Word/Office; all versions for Compatibility Pack and Word Viewer; 2010/2013 for SharePoint and Web products), and users can open RTF documents.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches MS15-033 (for affected Office/Word versions) and ensure users do not open untrusted RTF documents from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to newer versions of Office/Word that include the security fix (e.g., Office 2016/2019/365 with current patches)

  1. Navigate to the Microsoft Security Update Guide at https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/
  2. Search for MS15-033 (the security bulletin that addresses this vulnerability)
  3. Locate the security update appropriate for your installed Microsoft Office/Word version:
  4. - For Office 2007: Apply Security Update KB2956105
  5. - For Office 2010 (32-bit): Apply Security Update KB2956110
  6. - For Office 2010 (64-bit): Apply Security Update KB2956110
  7. - For Office 2013 (32-bit): Apply Security Update KB2956062
  8. - For Office 2013 (64-bit): Apply Security Update KB2956062
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, test compatibility with existing documents and macros before deploying broadly in production environments

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-0086 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data