CVE-2021-1715
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 Word Remote Code Execution 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 · moderate confidenceMicrosoft Word contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code by persuading a user to open a specially crafted Microsoft Word document. The vulnerability is classified as high severity with a CVSS score of 7.8.
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 dataall versions= 2010= 2019all versions= 2010= 2013= 2013= 2016= 2010= 2019= 2010= 2013= 2016CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Microsoft Word versionOpen Word, go to File > Account > About Word, or check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\InstallRoot for the version numberAffected if The installed version corresponds to Office 2010, 2013, or 2016 (or the specific version falls within the affected ranges listed)
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Check Microsoft Office versionRun 'winword /?' from command prompt to display version, or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office installation detailsAffected if Office version is 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, or is part of Microsoft 365 Apps (all versions listed as affected)
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Verify SharePoint Server version if applicableCheck SharePoint Administration Center version info, or inspect registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\15.0\Setup for SharePoint 2013, or 16.0 for later versionsAffected if SharePoint Server 2010, 2013, or 2016 Enterprise Server is installed (listed as affected)
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Check for Office Web Apps or Office Online ServerInspect installed programs list or check IIS Manager for Office Web Apps sites, or review server version via SharePoint Management Shell: (Get-SPFarm).BuildVersionAffected if Office Web Apps 2010, Office Web Apps Server 2013, or Office Online Server is deployed (all listed as affected)
Your environment is affected if any Microsoft Word, Office, SharePoint, or Office Web Apps installation matches the versions listed (2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, or all versions for Microsoft 365 Apps and Office Online Server), and the security update for CVE-2021-1715 has not been applied.
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 the Microsoft security update for CVE-2021-1715, which patches the vulnerability in affected Microsoft Office versions. Users should avoid opening untrusted documents from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1715 — 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-2021-1715 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
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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