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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0183

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-05-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
The Windows font library in Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2, and Office Web Apps 2010 SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted embedded font, aka "Microsoft Office Graphics 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 · high confidence

This is a remote code execution vulnerability in the Windows font library affecting Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, SharePoint Server 2010 SP2 Word Automation Services, and Office Web Apps 2010 SP2. Attackers can execute arbitrary code by enticing users to open documents containing crafted embedded fonts.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update KB3115112 or later for Office 2010 products. Consider enabling Protected View for documents from untrusted sources and restricting embedded font loading 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
Office Web AppsApplication
Affected:= 2010
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2010
WordApplication
Affected:= 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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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. Identify installed Microsoft Office 2010 version
    Open any Office application (such as Word), go to File > Help, and locate the version information under 'About Microsoft [Application]'. Look for version number and Service Pack 2 designation.
    Affected if The installed version shows Microsoft Office 2010 with Service Pack 2.
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Word 2010 version
    Open Word 2010, click File > Help, and record the version string. Verify it shows '14.0.xxxx' version with SP2.
    Affected if Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (version 14.0.7170 or later in the 14.0 line) is installed.
  3. Check if SharePoint Server 2010 with Word Automation Services is deployed
    On the SharePoint server, open SharePoint Central Administration, go to Manage web applications, and identify if Word Automation Services is configured. Use Get-SPServiceApplication in PowerShell to list Word Automation Service instances.
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2010 with Word Automation Services is installed and running.
  4. Check if Office Web Apps 2010 is deployed
    On servers running Office Web Apps 2010, run 'Get-OfficeWebAppsServer' in SharePoint Management Shell to retrieve the version. Check server event logs for Office Web Apps 2010 components.
    Affected if Office Web Apps 2010 is installed on the environment.
  5. Verify Protected View settings for Office documents
    In any Office application, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View. Check if Protected View is enabled for files originating from the internet and other potentially unsafe locations.
    Affected if Protected View is disabled for internet-sourced or untrusted documents, allowing automatic execution of embedded content.

If Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, SharePoint Server 2010 SP2 Word Automation Services, or Office Web Apps 2010 SP2 is installed and Protected View is disabled for untrusted documents, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2016-0183.

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 update KB3115112 or later for Office 2010 products. Consider enabling Protected View for documents from untrusted sources and restricting embedded font loading as a defense-in-depth measure.

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
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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-2016-0183 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