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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2015-6118

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-12-09
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 Office 2007 SP3 and Office 2010 SP2 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted 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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office 2007 SP3 and Office 2010 SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted Office documents (e.g., Word, Excel files). Opening a malicious file triggers memory corruption that can be leveraged for code execution with user privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS15-116 and subsequent patches) to all affected Office installations; enforce policies prohibiting opening of untrusted or unexpected Office documents from external 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:= 2007= 2010

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. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Open Word or Excel, go to File > Account > About [App] or check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel for Microsoft Office entries
    Affected if The installed version is Microsoft Office 2007 or Microsoft Office 2010
  2. Determine Office 2007 Service Pack level
    Check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Common\InstallRoot or open Word, press Alt+F11 for VBA, or use 'winword.exe /?' help
    Affected if Service Pack level is SP3 (version 12.0.###) and no security updates from MS15-116 or later have been applied
  3. Determine Office 2010 Service Pack level
    Check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Common\InstallRoot or open Word, press Alt+F11 for VBA, or use 'winword.exe /?' help
    Affected if Service Pack level is SP2 (version 14.0.###) and no security updates from MS15-116 or later have been applied
  4. Verify presence of security updates
    Open Windows Update > View update history or check Windows Update for installed security updates; look for KB3101520 (MS15-116) or subsequent Office security patches
    Affected if Security updates KB3101520 or later Office patches are NOT installed on Office 2007 SP3 or Office 2010 SP2

Environment is affected if Microsoft Office 2007 SP3 or Office 2010 SP2 is installed without the MS15-116 security update (KB3101520) or subsequent patches 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 updates (MS15-116 and subsequent patches) to all affected Office installations; enforce policies prohibiting opening of untrusted or unexpected Office documents from external sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 2010 SP3 or migrate to Office 365/Office 2016

  1. Upgrade Microsoft Office 2007 to a supported version (such as Office 365 or a newer perpetual license)
  2. Upgrade Microsoft Office 2010 to Office 2010 SP3 or migrate to a supported version (Office 2013, Office 2016, or Office 365)
  3. Alternatively, apply the specific security update from MS15-116 if available through Windows Update or Microsoft Update Catalog
  4. Ensure all security updates for Office are installed via Windows Update
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2007/2010 to newer versions may require license purchase and may have UI/feature changes; ensure compatibility with existing workflows and required add-ins

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2015-6118 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