dbcve.org
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0053

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-02-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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, Word 2016, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Word Viewer, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2013 SP1, Office Web Apps Server 2013 SP1, and SharePoint Server 2013 SP1 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

A memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Word and related Office products allows remote code execution when users open specially crafted Office documents. The vulnerability stems from improper memory handling during document parsing, enabling attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code via malicious .doc or similar files.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for CVE-2016-0053 across all affected Office installations. Until patches are applied, instruct users not to open untrusted or unexpected Office documents and enable Protected View in Microsoft Office to provide an additional sandbox layer.

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:= 2013
WordApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013= 2016
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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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 installed Microsoft Word version
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winword /?' or check Add/Remove Programs for the installed Microsoft Office/Word version number
    Affected if The version is 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 and matches the affected version ranges listed in the CVE
  2. Check Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office app, go to File > Account > About [App] or run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration"' in Command Prompt
    Affected if The Office version is 2010 (if Word is bundled) or the specific Office product matches an affected version
  3. Verify Microsoft Word Viewer installation
    Check Add/Remove Programs or look for 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\WordViewer' directory
    Affected if Microsoft Word Viewer is installed (all versions are affected)
  4. Check Protected View settings
    Open Word > File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View. Verify if Protected View is enabled for files from the internet and Outlook attachments
    Affected if Protected View is disabled, providing no sandbox protection against malicious documents
  5. Identify if documents from untrusted sources are commonly opened
    Review email filtering policies and user behavior for opening attachments from unknown senders
    Affected if Users routinely open Office documents from untrusted or unknown sources without additional scrutiny

Your environment is affected if any vulnerable version of Microsoft Office (2010), Word (2007, 2010, 2013, 2016), Word Viewer, or Office Compatibility Pack is installed and users open untrusted Office documents without Protected View mitigation.

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

Apply Microsoft security patches for CVE-2016-0053 across all affected Office installations. Until patches are applied, instruct users not to open untrusted or unexpected Office documents and enable Protected View in Microsoft Office to provide an additional sandbox layer.

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

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-0053 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2016-0053 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