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OutlookApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-3278

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-07-13
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 Outlook 2010 SP2, 2013 SP1, 2013 RT SP1, and 2016 allows 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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted Office documents. Opening a malicious document triggers memory corruption that can be leveraged to gain code execution on the target system.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patch MS16-088 (or subsequent cumulative updates) to all affected Outlook versions. Additionally, train users to avoid opening Office documents from untrusted sources and consider deploying Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) or Windows Defender Exploit Guard as an additional defensive 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
OutlookApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013= 2016
Outlook RtApplication
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 if Microsoft Outlook is installed
    Navigate to Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for Microsoft Outlook, or check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration for Office 365/2016 installations, or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[version]\Outlook\InstallRoot for older versions
    Affected if Microsoft Outlook is present on the system and the vulnerability patch has not been applied
  2. Determine the installed Outlook version number
    Open Outlook, go to File > Office Account > About Outlook to view the exact version, or check the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration for the Version string value
    Affected if The version displayed is 2010 (14.x), 2013 (15.x), or 2016 (16.x)
  3. Verify if security update MS16-088 (KB3172522) is installed
    Open Windows Update > View update history, or run 'Get-HotFix -KBArticle KB3172522' in PowerShell, or check the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages for the presence of a patch package containing KB3172522
    Affected if The security update KB3172522 is not listed in installed updates or the hotfix is not present
  4. Check Outlook security settings for attachment handling
    In Outlook, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Attachment Handling and verify if 'Turn off Attachment Previewing' is enabled, or check registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\[version]\Outlook\Preferences for DontPreviewAttachments value
    Affected if Attachment previewing is enabled (this increases exposure but does not determine vulnerability status directly)

The system is affected if Microsoft Outlook version 2010, 2013, or 2016 is installed AND security update KB3172522 from MS16-088 has not been 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 patch MS16-088 (or subsequent cumulative updates) to all affected Outlook versions. Additionally, train users to avoid opening Office documents from untrusted sources and consider deploying Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) or Windows Defender Exploit Guard as an additional defensive layer.

Fix this in Outlook Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2016-3278 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