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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2015-6172

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
High EPSS 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 SP1, Word 2016, Word 2013 RT SP1, and Office Compatibility Pack SP3 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted email message processed by Outlook, aka "Microsoft Office RCE 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 · moderate confidence

A remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Word allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted email message processed by Outlook. The vulnerability affects Word 2007 SP3, Office/Word 2010 SP2, Word 2013 SP1, Word 2016, Word 2013 RT SP1, and Office Compatibility Pack SP3.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS15-131) to all affected Office installations and exercise caution with unexpected email attachments.

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
WordApplication
Affected:= 2007= 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. Identify installed Microsoft Word version
    Open Word, go to File > Account > About Word, or run: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration" /v VersionToReport (for Click-to-Run) or reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[version]\Common\InstallRoot" /v Version (for MSI install) where [version] is 12.0, 14.0, or 15.0 for Office 2007, 2010, 2013 respectively
    Affected if The installed version matches Word 2007, Word 2010, Word 2013, or Word 2016 without the MS15-131 security update applied
  2. Check if Microsoft Outlook is installed and processing email
    Verify Outlook is installed by checking: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[version]\Outlook" /v InstallRoot or by checking if Outlook.exe exists in the Office program directory. This CVE exploits the email processing chain between Outlook and Word.
    Affected if Outlook is installed and configured to preview or open Word email attachments
  3. Verify if security update MS15-131 is installed
    Run: wmic qfe list where "HotFixID='KB3116111'" or check Windows Update history for security update KB3116111. This is the specific patch for CVE-2015-6172.
    Affected if The update KB3116111 is NOT listed in installed updates, meaning the vulnerability remains unpatched
  4. Check Office Compatibility Pack installation and version
    Verify if Office Compatibility Pack is installed by checking: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\CompatibilityPack\InstalledVersion" and obtain the version. The Compatibility Pack allows opening .docx files in older Office versions.
    Affected if Office Compatibility Pack is installed without the MS15-131 update applied

A user is affected if they run an unpatched version of Word 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 (or Office Compatibility Pack) and use Outlook to process email, with the security update KB3116111 missing.

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 the relevant Microsoft security update (MS15-131) to all affected Office installations and exercise caution with unexpected email attachments.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft security updates from MS15-131 (December 8, 2015) - KB3114400, KB3114403, KB3114342 depending on installed product

  1. Open Microsoft Word and go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now to check for pending updates
  2. Alternatively, open Microsoft Update (windowsupdate.microsoft.com) or use Windows Update in Control Panel
  3. Search for and install the December 2015 security update: KB3114400 (for Office 2010/Word 2010 and Office Compatibility Pack)
  4. For Word 2007, install security update KB3114403
  5. For Word 2013, install security update KB3114342
  6. After installation, restart your computer if prompted
  7. Verify the update was installed by checking Installed Updates in Control Panel > Programs and Features
Caveat No breaking changes expected from applying security updates; they contain only security fixes

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2015-6172 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