CVE-2025-49703
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 · uneditedUse 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 · low confidenceThis is a use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office Word where memory is accessed after it has been freed, allowing an unauthorized local attacker to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.8 indicating high 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 dataall versions= 2019= 2021= 2024= 2016= 2019= 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.
-
Check installed Microsoft Word versionOpen Word, go to File > Account > About Word to see the version number, or run 'winword /?' from Command PromptAffected if The version displayed is 2016, 2019, 2021, or 2024, or for Microsoft 365 Apps if the version predates the security patch
-
Check Microsoft Office version via RegistryOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\InstallRoot (path varies by version)Affected if The Version or PackageVersion value matches 2016, 2019, 2021, or 2024, or shows an unpatched Microsoft 365 Apps version
-
Check Microsoft SharePoint Server versionOpen SharePoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage servers in this farm, or run 'Get-SPFarm | Select-Object BuildVersion' in SharePoint Management ShellAffected if The build version corresponds to SharePoint Server 2016 or 2019 and lacks the CVE-2025-49703 patch
-
Verify Word is the affected componentConfirm Microsoft Word is installed (check Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 or similar path for winword.exe)Affected if Word executable exists and the version matches affected versions listed above
-
Check for applied security updatesOpen Word > File > Account > Update Options > View Update History, or check Windows Update history for KB5022xxx series patches addressing this CVEAffected if No relevant security update for CVE-2025-49703 is listed as installed
Your environment is affected if Microsoft Word, Office, or SharePoint Server version matches 2016, 2019, 2021, or 2024 (or unpatched Microsoft 365 Apps) and the CVE-2025-49703 security update 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 Microsoft security patches for CVE-2025-49703 once released. Until then, restrict Word file handling from untrusted sources and monitor for anomalous Word processes.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-49703 — 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-2025-49703 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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