OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2017-11882

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-11-15

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 Ransomware High EPSS Public exploit No privileges Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1, and Microsoft Office 2016 allow an attacker to run arbitrary code in the context of the current user by failing to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability". This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2017-11884.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office's OLE equation editor component. Attackers can craft malicious Office documents that, when opened by victims, allow arbitrary code execution in the current user's context due to improper memory handling.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (KB4011599 and related patches released November 2017) to affected Office versions; enable Protected View for untrusted documents and consider disabling the legacy Equation Editor.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

OfficeApplication

Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013= 2016

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Identify installed Microsoft Office version

Open any Office application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), go to File > Account > About [App] or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office. Alternatively, check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\[Version]\Common\InstallRoot

Affected if The installed version is 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 (or any version within these release families)
Locate the legacy Equation Editor component

Search for the file EQNEDT32.EXE on the system. Common locations: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office[version]\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office[version]\. Also check C:\Windows\System32\ for newer Office installations

Affected if EQNEDT32.EXE exists on the system (the vulnerable component is present)
Check if the Equation Editor has been patched

Right-click EQNEDT32.EXE > Properties > Details tab and compare the Product Version or File Version against the vulnerable baseline. Patched versions released after November 2017 have version numbers higher than the vulnerable release. Alternatively, open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates and search for KB4011599 or related November 2017 security patches

Affected if The file version of EQNEDT32.EXE corresponds to the pre-November 2017 vulnerable build, OR no security update KB4011599 (or related patch) is installed
Verify if Protected View is disabled for untrusted documents

In Word/Excel/PowerPoint, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View. Check if all three options (Enable Protected View for files from the Internet, Enable Protected View for files in potentially unsafe locations, Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments) are unchecked

Affected if Protected View is disabled and the user opens untrusted Office documents from external sources

Your environment is affected if you run an affected Office version (2007/2010/2013/2016), the legacy Equation Editor (EQNEDT32.EXE) is present, the November 2017 security patches are not applied, and Protected View is disabled (allowing untrusted documents to execute scripts).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Patch available Apply the vendor patch

Vendor patch 0patch.blogspot.com →

Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates (KB4011599 and related patches released November 2017) to affected Office versions; enable Protected View for untrusted documents and consider disabling the legacy Equation Editor.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply the November 2017 Microsoft Office security updates (KB2553154, KB3213640, KB3213641)

Install the Microsoft November 2017 security updates for Microsoft Office
For Office 2007: Apply security update KB3213640
For Office 2010: Apply security update KB2553154
For Office 2013: Apply security update KB3213640
For Office 2016: Apply security update KB3213641
Alternatively, ensure Windows Update is enabled and set to automatically install Microsoft Office updates
As an additional mitigation, disable the Equation Editor component by renaming EQNEDT32.EXE in the Office installation directory

Caveat None expected from security update installation; disabling Equation Editor may affect functionality for documents containing equations

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

Fix this in Office Exploited in the wild — priority engagement

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation4.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

12.0 hours of engineering $2,080

Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

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References

Primary sources

0patch.blogspot.comPatch / commit
reversingminds-blog.logdown.comProof of Concept
0patch.blogspot.comExploitPatchThird Party Advisory
portal.msrc.microsoft.comPatchVendor Advisory
web.archive.orgExploitMitigationThird Party Advisory
reversingminds-blog.logdown.comExploitThird Party Advisory
www.securityfocus.comThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
www.securitytracker.comThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
0patch.blogspot.comExploitThird Party Advisory
github.comExploitThird Party Advisory
github.comExploitThird Party Advisory
github.comExploitThird Party Advisory
github.comExploitThird Party Advisory
researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.comExploitThird Party Advisory
www.exploit-db.comExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
www.kb.cert.orgThird Party AdvisoryUS Government Resource
www.cisa.govUS Government Resource
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-11882 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2017-11882?

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

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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

At a glance

Exploited in the wildOn CISA’s known-exploited list · agencies must fix by 2022-05-03

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 99.9%

Affects: Office

Remediation

Being exploited — close it fast

Fix this in Office 12 hrs · Low

Typical engagement from $2,080

Get it fixed fast See the full breakdown ↓

This CVE is on CISA’s actively-exploited list, so the clock is real — a vetted specialist can deliver a reviewed fix for your staging environment quickly.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References