CVE-2016-3362
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, Excel 2016, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Excel Viewer, Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2007 SP3, Excel Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2, Excel Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2013 SP1, and Office Online Server allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-3365.
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel allowing remote code execution via a crafted malicious document. The vulnerability affects Excel 2007 SP3 through Excel 2016, Office Compatibility Pack, Excel Viewer, and Excel Services on SharePoint Server versions.
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= 2007= 2010= 2013= 2016all versionsall versionsall versions= 2007= 2010= 2013CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify installed Microsoft Excel productOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Excel Viewer, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, or Microsoft SharePoint DesignerAffected if Any of these affected products are listed in installed programs
-
Check Excel version numberOpen Excel > File > Account > About Excel (or run 'winword.exe' for Office apps) and note the version number. For command line: open cmd and run 'excel.exe /?' or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[version]\Excel\InstallRootAffected if Version corresponds to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 (e.g., 12.x, 14.x, 15.x, 16.x)
-
Verify MS16-099 security update is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, search for KB3118302 (Excel 2016), KB3118303 (Excel 2013), KB3118311 (Excel 2010), KB3118313 (Excel 2007). Or run: 'wmic qfe list | findstr KB3118302'Affected if The specific KB update for your Excel version is NOT installed - this means the vulnerability is present
-
Check for SharePoint Designer (if applicable)Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2007, 2010, or 2013Affected if Any of these versions are installed and lack the corresponding security update
You are affected if any affected Microsoft Excel product or SharePoint Designer version is installed AND the corresponding MS16-099 security update (KB3118302, KB3118303, KB3118311, or KB3118313) is missing.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply Microsoft security updates (MS16-099) to all affected Excel installations and enable Protected View for untrusted documents to mitigate exploitation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3362 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-3362 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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