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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0025

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-06-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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 2013 RT SP1, Office 2016, Word 2016, Word for Mac 2011, Word 2016 for Mac, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2013 SP1, Office Web Apps 2010 SP2, Office Web Apps Server 2013 SP1, and Office Online Server 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

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Word and related Office components (Word Automation Services, Office Web Apps, Office Online Server) that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted malicious Office documents. The vulnerability exists due to improper memory handling when parsing specially crafted Word files.

MitigationDeploy the Microsoft security updates for all affected Office products. Until patched, users should not open untrusted or unexpected Office documents, and Protected View should be enabled as a defense-in-depth measure.

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= 2016
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Online ServerApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Web AppsApplication
Affected:= 2010
Office Web Apps ServerApplication
Affected:= 2013
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013
WordApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013= 2016
Word For MacApplication
Affected:= 2011= 2016

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Microsoft Word version on Windows
    Open Word, go to File > Account > About Word, or run 'winword /?' from command prompt, or check registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\[Version]\Word\InstallRoot
    Affected if The installed version is 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 and matches the affected build numbers for CVE-2016-0025
  2. Check Microsoft Office suite version
    Open any Office app, go to File > Account > About, or check registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\[Version]\Common\InstallRoot
    Affected if The installed Office version is 2010 or 2016 and the Word component is present
  3. Check Microsoft Word for Mac version
    Open Word for Mac, go to Word > About Microsoft Word, or check Applications folder for Microsoft Word.app and get Info
    Affected if The installed version is 2011 or 2016 and matches the affected build numbers
  4. Check Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack version
    Check installed programs in Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint' and note the version
    Affected if The Compatibility Pack is installed (all versions are affected)
  5. Check SharePoint Server with Word Automation Services
    On SharePoint server, open Central Administration > System Settings > Manage services on server, verify if Word Automation Services is running; check SharePoint version via Central Administration > Upgrade and Migration > Check product and patch installation status
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2010 or 2013 is installed with Word Automation Services enabled
  6. Check Office Web Apps or Office Online Server
    On the server, open Windows Features or check installed programs for 'Office Web Apps' or 'Office Online Server'; check version via server manager or registry
    Affected if Office Web Apps 2010, Office Web Apps Server 2013, or Office Online Server is installed

You are affected if any of the following are true: (1) Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 is installed, (2) Microsoft Office 2010 or 2016 with Word component is installed, (3) Office Compatibility Pack is installed, (4) SharePoint Server 2010/2013 with Word Automation Services is present, or (5) Office Web Apps/Office Online Server is deployed. Compare your specific build numbers to the affe

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Deploy the Microsoft security updates for all affected Office products. Until patched, users should not open untrusted or unexpected Office documents, and Protected View should be enabled as a defense-in-depth measure.

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2016-0025 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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