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Excel For MacApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-7234

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-11-10
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 Word 2007, Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Word 2013 SP1, Word 2013 RT SP1, Word for Mac 2011, Excel for Mac 2011, Word 2016 for Mac, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2013 SP1, Office Web Apps 2010 SP2, and Office Web Apps Server 2013 SP1 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 products (primarily Word, also Excel, Office Compatibility Pack, SharePoint Word Automation Services, and Office Web Apps) that allows remote code execution when processing specially crafted Office documents. The vulnerability stems from improper memory handling when parsing malformed Office files.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS16-121 or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Office installations. Additionally, configure Office to open documents in Protected View and instruct users to avoid opening Office documents from untrusted 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
Excel For MacApplication
Affected:= 2011
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2010
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Web AppsApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013
WordApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013
Word For MacApplication
Affected:= 2011= 2016

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. List installed Office applications
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select DisplayName' in PowerShell to enumerate installed Microsoft Office products
    Affected if Any of the following products appear: Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, Microsoft Excel for Mac 2011, Microsoft Word for Mac 2011, Microsoft Word for Mac 2016, or Office Web Apps/SharePoint Server 2010/2013 components
  2. Determine installed Office version
    Open any Office application (Word/Excel), go to File > Account > About [App] to see the exact version number, or check the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration for Office 365/2016 installations
    Affected if Version matches or falls within: Office 2010 (14.x), Office 2007 (12.x), Office 2013 (15.x), Office 2016 (16.x), Excel/Word for Mac 2011 (14.x), Word for Mac 2016 (16.x)
  3. Verify security update MS16-121 is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, search for 'KB3191823' (the update for CVE-2016-7234 in MS16-121); alternatively run 'Get-HotFix -Id KB3191823' in PowerShell
    Affected if Update KB3191823 is NOT listed among installed updates, indicating the patch has not been applied
  4. Check Protected View status in Office
    Open Word or Excel, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View; verify if all three Protected View options are enabled
    Affected if Protected View is disabled for any of the three settings (files from Internet, potentially unsafe locations, or Outlook attachments) - this means documents from untrusted sources could be processed without protection

You are affected if you have any unpatched Microsoft Office product listed in the affected versions and Protected View is disabled, as the vulnerability triggers when processing specially crafted Office documents.

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 (MS16-121 or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Office installations. Additionally, configure Office to open documents in Protected View and instruct users to avoid opening Office documents from untrusted sources.

Fix this in Excel For Mac 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-2016-7234 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