CVE-2021-40399
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 · uneditedAn exploitable use-after-free vulnerability exists in WPS Spreadsheets ( ET ) as part of WPS Office, version 11.2.0.10351. A specially-crafted XLS file can cause a use-after-free condition, resulting in remote code execution. An attacker needs to provide a malformed file to the victim to trigger the 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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in WPS Spreadsheets (ET) version 11.2.0.10351 when parsing specially-crafted XLS files. The vulnerability occurs due to improper memory management during file parsing, where memory is freed but still accessed, leading to potential remote code execution when the attacker controls the freed memory.
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= 11.2.0.10351CVSS 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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Locate installed WPS Office versionOpen WPS Office application, navigate to Help > About WPS Office, or check Programs and Features in Control Panel for the installed version numberAffected if Version shows 11.2.0.10351 exactly
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Confirm WPS Spreadsheets component is installedCheck if the ET (Electronic Tables) spreadsheet application is installed - look for WPS Spreadsheets or ET in the installed programs listAffected if WPS Spreadsheets/ET component is present on the system
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Verify version matches vulnerable releaseCompare the installed version number against the affected version 11.2.0.10351 - ensure exact matchAffected if Installed version is exactly 11.2.0.10351
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Assess exposure to untrusted XLS filesReview whether the system or users routinely open XLS spreadsheet files from untrusted or unknown sourcesAffected if Users open XLS files from untrusted or unknown sources without validation
You are affected only if WPS Office version 11.2.0.10351 is installed with the WPS Spreadsheets component and users open XLS files from untrusted sources.
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 dataAvoid opening untrusted or unexpected XLS files from unknown sources. Apply vendor patches when available and consider deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for anomalous process behavior.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40399 — 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-2021-40399 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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- 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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