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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2015-2555

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-10-14
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
Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, Excel 2016, Excel for Mac 2011, Excel 2016 for Mac, and Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2 and 2013 SP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted calculatedColumnFormula object in an Office 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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Excel allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted calculatedColumnFormula object embedded in a malicious Office document. The vulnerability affects multiple Excel versions (2010, 2013, 2016) across Windows and Mac platforms, as well as Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2010 and 2013.

MitigationApply Microsoft security bulletin MS15-110 or later patches to all affected Excel installations and SharePoint servers. Additionally, configure macro security settings to Disable All Macros Without Notification and educate users to avoid opening untrusted Office documents.

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
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013
Excel For MacApplication
Affected:= 2011= 2016
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013

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 Excel version on Windows
    Open Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel (or File > Help in older versions). Note the version number (e.g., 14.0.x for 2010, 15.0.x for 2013, 16.0.x for 2016).
    Affected if Version is 14.0.x (2010), 15.0.x (2013), or 16.0.x (2016) and the MS15-110 patch has not been applied.
  2. Check installed Excel version on Mac
    Open Excel for Mac, go to Excel > About Excel. Note the version number (e.g., 14.x for 2011, 15.x for 2016).
    Affected if Version is 14.x (2011) or 15.x (2016) and the MS15-110 patch has not been applied.
  3. Check Windows Update for MS15-110 patch
    Open Windows Update (Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Update), click 'View update history', and search for security update KB3080790 (Excel 2010), KB3080791 (Excel 2013), or KB3085565 (Excel 2016).
    Affected if The specific Excel patch from MS15-110 is not listed as installed.
  4. Check SharePoint Server Excel Services version
    On SharePoint server, open SharePoint Central Administration > Manage services on server > Excel Services Application. Check the version from the installed SharePoint patches via Get-SPPowerPointServiceApplication or review installed updates.
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2010 or 2013 is running and KB3085566 (SharePoint) has not been installed.
  5. Verify calculatedColumnFormula feature usage
    Open Excel and create or open a workbook with an Excel table (Insert > Table). Right-click a table column header and check if 'Calculated Column' option is available under Table Column (this feature allows formulas in table columns).
    Affected if The calculatedColumnFormula feature exists in the installed Excel version and the version is unpatched.

You are affected if you run any unpatched Microsoft Excel 2010, 2013, or 2016 (Windows), Excel 2011 or 2016 (Mac), or SharePoint Server 2010 or 2013 with Excel Services, and the MS15-110 security update is not applied.

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 bulletin MS15-110 or later patches to all affected Excel installations and SharePoint servers. Additionally, configure macro security settings to Disable All Macros Without Notification and educate users to avoid opening untrusted Office documents.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-110 patches (October 2015)

  1. Install Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-110 which addresses CVE-2015-2555
  2. For Excel 2010: Apply KB3085540
  3. For Excel 2013: Apply KB3085562
  4. For Excel 2016: Apply KB3085538
  5. For Excel for Mac 2011: Apply update version 14.5.7 or later
  6. For Excel 2016 for Mac: Apply update version 15.19.0 or later
  7. For SharePoint Server 2010: Apply KB3085618
  8. For SharePoint Server 2013: Apply KB3085619
Caveat Patches are cumulative; ensure all previous Office updates are applied for full compatibility

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2015-2555 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