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365 AppsApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2025-24079

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-11
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
Use after free in Microsoft Office Word allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

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

A use-after-free memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office Word enables an unauthenticated local attacker to achieve code execution by manipulating freed memory objects through specially crafted Word documents.

MitigationDeploy Microsoft security updates for Microsoft Office Word to address the use-after-free vulnerability; prioritize patching end-user workstations running Word based on CVSS 7.8 severity.

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2019
Office Long Term Servicing ChannelApplication
Affected:= 2021= 2024
WordApplication
Affected:= 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. Check Word version from within the application
    Open Microsoft Word, go to File > Account, then click About Word to view the exact version number and build
    Affected if The displayed version matches 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, or shows as a Microsoft 365 Apps version
  2. Check Word version from command line
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: winword /? or reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration" /v Version
    Affected if The version output shows 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, or a Microsoft 365 version number
  3. Check installed Office products via Windows Settings
    Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, search for Microsoft Office or Microsoft Word, and note the version listed
    Affected if The installed version matches any of the affected versions: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, or is a Microsoft 365 Apps edition
  4. Verify Office update channel configuration
    Run: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration" /v UpdateChannel to determine if the installation is on Monthly or Long Term Servicing Channel
    Affected if The installation is any channel version of Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021, or Office LTSC 2024
  5. Check if Word is installed at all
    Search for winword.exe in Program Files or Program Files (x86), or check Program and Features in Control Panel
    Affected if Microsoft Word 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, or any Microsoft 365 version of Word is installed

You are affected if Microsoft Word version 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, or any Microsoft 365 Apps edition is installed, since all these versions are listed as vulnerable in the CVE.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Deploy Microsoft security updates for Microsoft Office Word to address the use-after-free vulnerability; prioritize patching end-user workstations running Word based on CVSS 7.8 severity.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft 365 Apps (latest version) or install the specific security patch from Microsoft Update for your Office version

  1. Check Microsoft Update or the Microsoft Security Response Center (msrc.microsoft.com) for the specific security update KB for this CVE
  2. Apply the relevant security update for your version of Microsoft Office Word
  3. Restart the application after installing the update
  4. Verify the update was installed successfully via Office Update history
Caveat Standard security update with minimal risk; ensure backup of critical documents before applying

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

Fix this in 365 Apps Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2025-24079 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