dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0054

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 Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, Excel 2016, Excel for Mac 2011, Excel 2016 for Mac, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Excel Viewer, Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2007 SP3, Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2, Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2013 SP1, and Office Web Apps 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

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel and related products (Excel Services, Office Web Apps, Excel Viewer) that allows remote code execution via specially crafted Office documents. The vulnerability stems from improper memory handling when Excel parses certain objects in malformed files, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite memory and execute arbitrary code.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS16-015) to all affected Microsoft Office products and ensure users do not open untrusted or unexpected Office documents from unknown 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
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013= 2016
Excel For MacApplication
Affected:= 2011= 2016
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Web AppsApplication
Affected:= 2010
Sharepoint DesignerApplication
Affected:= 2007
Sharepoint FoundationApplication
Affected:= 2010
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 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
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 Excel version on Windows
    Open Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel, or check the Excel.exe file properties (right-click Excel.exe > Properties > Details)
    Affected if Version is 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 and the MS16-015 patch is not applied
  2. Check Excel for Mac version
    Open Excel > Excel menu > About Microsoft Excel
    Affected if Version is 2011 or 2016 and the MS16-015 patch is not applied
  3. Check for Excel Viewer installation
    Search for ExcelViewer.exe in Program Files or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Excel Viewer
    Affected if Excel Viewer is installed (any version) and not patched
  4. Check for Office Compatibility Pack
    Check Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
    Affected if Compatibility Pack is installed (any version) and not patched
  5. Check SharePoint Server for Office Web Apps
    On the SharePoint server, check installed updates via Control Panel > View installed updates, or run: Get-SPService -ApplicationType WebApp | Select-Object Name, Version
    Affected if Office Web Apps 2010, SharePoint Foundation 2010, SharePoint Server 2013, or SharePoint Designer 2007 is installed without MS16-015
  6. Identify the attack surface
    The vulnerability is triggered when users open specially crafted Office documents. Check if your organization handles untrusted Office files from external sources.
    Affected if Users can open Office documents from untrusted or unknown sources without prior scanning

You are affected if any Microsoft Excel, Excel Viewer, Office Compatibility Pack, Office Web Apps, or affected SharePoint product listed above is installed without the MS16-015 security update 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.

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

Apply Microsoft security updates (MS16-015) to all affected Microsoft Office products and ensure users do not open untrusted or unexpected Office documents from unknown sources.

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2016-0054 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