dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 10 Aug 2022.
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2017-0262

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-05-12
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS No privileges Patch available

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, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remote code execution vulnerability when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability". This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2017-0261 and CVE-2017-0281.

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

A memory handling vulnerability in Microsoft Office allows remote code execution when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker could exploit this by convincing a user to open a specially crafted Office document, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution with the user's privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates released for this vulnerability. Additionally, enable Protected View for documents from untrusted sources and disable automatic opening of documents via Group Policy to reduce attack surface.

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= 2013= 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:3.1/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 version
    Open any Office application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), go to File > Account > About [Application Name]. Alternatively, open Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate Microsoft Office and note the version (2010, 2013, or 2016).
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2010, 2013, or 2016
  2. Check if Office security updates are installed
    Open Windows Update history or check the installed updates list for security updates released after May 2017 (the month CVE-2017-0262 was patched). In Office, go to File > Account > Update Options > View Update History.
    Affected if No security updates from May 2017 or later are installed for the affected Office version
  3. Verify file association handling for Office documents
    Right-click any Office document file (e.g., .docx, .xlsx) on the system, select Properties, and confirm it opens with the affected Office application versions.
    Affected if Office documents are configured to open with the vulnerable application versions (2010, 2013, or 2016) and those versions lack the security patch

A system is affected if it runs unpatched Microsoft Office 2010, 2013, or 2016 and allows users to open potentially malicious Office documents without additional sandboxing or protection mechanisms.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch portal.msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates released for this vulnerability. Additionally, enable Protected View for documents from untrusted sources and disable automatic opening of documents via Group Policy to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Office 365 (current channel) or latest permanent license version of Office 2021/2024

  1. Open Microsoft Update or check Windows Update for available security updates
  2. Locate the May 2017 security updates for Microsoft Office
  3. Install the appropriate patch for your Office version: KB3191822 for Office 2010, KB3191914 for Office 2013, or KB3191932 for Office 2016
  4. Restart the computer after installing the update
  5. Verify the update was installed successfully via Windows Update history
Caveat Ensure compatibility with existing documents and macros before upgrading major versions; test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Office Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0262 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2017-0262 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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