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365 AppsApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2022-26901

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-15
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 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 confidence

CVE-2022-26901 is a remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Excel that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems by tricking users into opening specially crafted malicious Excel files.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability (KB5002099 or subsequent patches) and exercise caution when opening untrusted Excel files from unknown sources.

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
365 AppsApplication
Affected:all versions
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2013= 2016
Excel RtApplication
Affected:= 2013
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2013= 2013_rt= 2016= 2019
Office Long Term Servicing ChannelApplication
Affected:= 2021
Office Online ServerApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Web Apps ServerApplication
Affected:= 2013

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. Check installed Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel. Alternatively, open Command Prompt and run: cd /d "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Root\Office16" (adjust folder number for your version) then dir to find Excel.exe, right-click > Properties > Details to see version. For Microsoft 365, check via File > Account > About Excel which will show "Microsoft 365"
    Affected if Version shows Microsoft 365 (any version), Excel 2013, Excel 2016, or any version from the affected Office suites listed in the CVE (Office 2013, 2016, 2019, LTSC 2021)
  2. Verify Excel is present on the system
    Check for Excel installation: Press Win+R, type "excel" and press Enter. If Excel opens, it is installed. Or check Program Files folder for Microsoft Office installation directories containing Excel.exe
    Affected if Excel is installed - the vulnerability exists in all listed affected versions regardless of other factors
  3. Confirm Office/Excel update status
    Open Excel > File > Account > Update Options. Check if updates are enabled and when the last update occurred. Alternatively, open any Office app > File > Account to view version information under "About [app]"
    Affected if Updates are disabled, outdated, or the version shown does not match a patched release (security updates after March 2022) - this indicates the system may be vulnerable

You are affected if you have Microsoft 365 Apps, Excel 2013, Excel 2016, Excel Rt 2013, Office 2013/2016/2019, Office LTSC 2021, Office Online Server, or Office Web Apps Server 2013 installed and have not applied the March 2022 security updates (KB5002099 or later).

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 for this vulnerability (KB5002099 or subsequent patches) and exercise caution when opening untrusted Excel files from unknown sources.

Fix this in 365 Apps Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-26901 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data