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365 AppsApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2025-54896

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.10417.20047 or later.
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 Excel 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 vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Excel where memory is accessed after it has been freed, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code locally. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management in Excel's processing of certain data structures.

MitigationApply the latest Microsoft security updates for Microsoft Office/Excel to address the use-after-free vulnerability. Prioritize patching systems that process untrusted Excel files.

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:= 2016
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2019
Office Long Term Servicing ChannelApplication
Affected:= 2021= 2024
Office Online ServerApplication
Affected:< 16.0.10417.20047

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 if Microsoft Excel is installed
    Open Excel and go to File > Account > About Excel, or check Control Panel > Programs and Features for Microsoft Office/Microsoft Excel entry
    Affected if Excel is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed Excel version number
    In Excel, click File > Account > About Excel and note the version (e.g., 16.0.xxxxx.xxxxx). Alternatively, run 'winword --version' or 'excel --version' from command line if available, or check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\InstallRoot
    Affected if Version begins with 16.0 or higher (Excel 2016+) without the security patch applied
  3. Check Microsoft Office version for Office products
    Open any Office app, go to File > Account > About [App Name] to see the version, or check Control Panel > Programs and Features for Microsoft Office entry and note the version year
    Affected if Office 2019, 2021, 2024, or Microsoft 365 Apps is installed without the security patch applied
  4. Identify Office Online Server version if applicable
    Check the Office Online Server version by opening a SharePoint Management Shell and running 'Get-OfficeOnlineServerVersion' or reviewing the file version of 'WacServer.dll' located in the Office Online Server installation path (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Web Apps\)
    Affected if Office Online Server version is earlier than 16.0.10417.20047

You are affected if you have Excel 2016 or later, Office 2019 or later, Office LTSC 2021/2024, or Office Online Server earlier than 16.0.10417.20047, and the specific CVE-2025-54896 security update has not been applied.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 16.0.10417.20047 or later
Fixed in 16.0.10417.20047
Interim mitigation

Apply the latest Microsoft security updates for Microsoft Office/Excel to address the use-after-free vulnerability. Prioritize patching systems that process untrusted Excel files.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft security update (check Windows Update or Microsoft Update Catalog for CVE-2025-54896)

  1. Check for Microsoft updates by opening any Office application, going to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now
  2. Enable automatic updates for Microsoft Office if not already enabled to receive future security patches automatically
  3. For enterprise environments, verify with IT administrators that Microsoft security updates are being deployed
  4. For Office Online Server, upgrade to version 16.0.10417.20047 or later

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

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-2025-54896 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