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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-3281

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 Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Word 2013 SP1, Word 2013 RT SP1, Word 2016, Word for Mac 2011, Word 2016 for Mac, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2, 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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office and Word that allows remote code execution when a user opens a specially crafted Office document. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Office (2010, 2013, 2016) across Windows and Mac platforms, as well as SharePoint Office Web Apps.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS16-099) to all affected Office installations. Until patched, advise users not to open untrusted Office documents and disable macro execution in Office settings.

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= 2013= 2016
Word For MacApplication
Affected:= 2011= 2016
Word 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. Identify installed Microsoft Office or Word versions
    On Windows, open Programs and Features or check the File tab in Word > Account > About Word. On Mac, open Word from Applications and check About Microsoft Word. For SharePoint, check Central Administration > System Settings > Manage farm features.
    Affected if The installed version is 2010, 2011, 2013, or 2016 for any Office, Word, Word for Mac, Word RT, Office Web Apps, or SharePoint product.
  2. Check if Microsoft Word is installed
    On Windows, search for WINWORD.EXE in Program Files or Program Files (x86). On Mac, check /Applications for Microsoft Word.app. Note the exact version from the executable or app properties.
    Affected if Word, Word for Mac, or Word RT version is 2010, 2011, 2013, or 2016.
  3. Verify if security update MS16-099 is installed
    On Windows, open Windows Update > View update history, or check Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Installed Updates. Look for update KB3178683 (for Office 2010/2013) or KB3178688 (for other products).
    Affected if The MS16-099 security update (KB3178683 or KB3178688) is NOT listed among installed updates.
  4. Check SharePoint and Office Web Apps versions
    For SharePoint Server, open Central Administration > System Settings > Manage servers in this farm. For Office Web Apps, check the version via Office Online Server administration or the farm version.
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2010, 2013, or 2016 is present, or Office Web Apps 2010, 2013, or 2016 is deployed, and MS16-099 is not applied.

A system is affected if it runs any version of Office, Word, SharePoint, or Office Web Apps from 2010 onward and the MS16-099 security update has not been installed.

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 (MS16-099) to all affected Office installations. Until patched, advise users not to open untrusted Office documents and disable macro execution in Office settings.

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2016-3281 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