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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-7266

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-20
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 Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, Excel 2016, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Excel Viewer, and Excel 2016 for Mac mishandle a registry check, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via crafted embedded content in a document, aka "Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass 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 security feature bypass vulnerability in multiple Microsoft Excel versions where the software improperly handles a registry check, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands through crafted embedded content in malicious documents. The vulnerability requires user-assisted attack vectors (user must open a malicious file), bypassing a security control designed to prevent macro/script-based code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates KB3204068 (Excel 2013), KB3204062 (Excel 2016), and corresponding patches for other affected versions. Alternatively, disable macro execution and block opening of untrusted Office documents through group policy.

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
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013= 2016
Excel For MacApplication
Affected:= 2016
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:all versions

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 Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel, or check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[Version]\Excel\InstallRoot for the Version string
    Affected if The installed version matches 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, or is an unpatched version of Excel Viewer or Office Compatibility Pack
  2. Check for applied security updates
    Open Windows Update history or check Add/Remove Programs for installed updates matching KB3204068 (Excel 2013), KB3204062 (Excel 2016), or equivalent patches for other versions
    Affected if The corresponding security update for your Excel version is NOT installed
  3. Verify macro execution settings
    Open Excel > File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro Settings, and check registry key HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[Version]\Excel\Security for VBAWarnings and other macro-related DWORD values
    Affected if Macro settings are configured to allow macros with notification or are set to fully enabled, making the registry bypass effective
  4. Inspect registry security controls
    Examine registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[Version]\Excel\Security and HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\\[Version]\Excel\Security for settings related to content blocking or file validation
    Affected if Registry keys controlling document security are present and can be bypassed by the vulnerability

You are affected if you are running an unpatched Excel version (2007, 2010, 2013, 2016), Excel Viewer, or Office Compatibility Pack, and the security update for your version is not 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 KB3204068 (Excel 2013), KB3204062 (Excel 2016), and corresponding patches for other affected versions. Alternatively, disable macro execution and block opening of untrusted Office documents through group policy.

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2016-7266 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
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