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365 AppsApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2025-59224

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.10417.20059 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 in Microsoft Office Excel allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code locally by exploiting improper memory management when handling specially crafted Excel files.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Office Excel as they become available; in the interim, exercise caution with untrusted Excel files and consider enabling Protected View in Office.

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:< 16.0.10417.20059

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 (or Help > About Microsoft Excel). Note the version number displayed (e.g., 16.0.xxxxx.xxxxx).
    Affected if The installed version is 2016 or later (for standalone Excel), or part of Microsoft 365 Apps, or part of Office 2019 or later, or Office LTSC 2021/2024 - meaning the version falls within or exceeds the affected ranges listed.
  2. Check Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office application (Word, PowerPoint), go to File > Account > About [App]. Note the version number. This applies if Excel version cannot be checked directly.
    Affected if The Office version is 2019 or later, or is Microsoft 365 Apps, or is LTSC 2021 or 2024.
  3. Check Microsoft Office Online Server version
    On the server hosting Office Online Server, open the Office Online Server management shell and run: Get-OfficeWebAppsServer | Select-Object Version
    Affected if The Office Online Server version is lower than 16.0.10417.20059.
  4. Verify Excel is the affected component
    Confirm the vulnerability is triggered when opening specially crafted .xlsx files in the installed Excel version.
    Affected if The vulnerability exists specifically in the Excel component; other Office applications are not affected by this CVE.

You are affected if your installed Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office (with Excel component), or Microsoft Office Online Server version falls within the affected version ranges (Excel 2016+, Office 2019+, Microsoft 365 Apps all versions, Office LTSC 2021/2024, or Office Online Server below 16.0.10417.20059).

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 16.0.10417.20059 or later
Fixed in 16.0.10417.20059
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Office Excel as they become available; in the interim, exercise caution with untrusted Excel files and consider enabling Protected View in Office.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft 365 Apps / Office 2024 (latest version with security patches); Office Online Server 16.0.10417.20059 or later

  1. Open Microsoft Excel or any Office application
  2. Go to File > Account > Update Options
  3. Click 'Update Now' to download and install the latest security updates from Microsoft
  4. Alternatively, manually check for updates via Windows Update: Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates
  5. For Office Online Server, upgrade to version 16.0.10417.20059 or later
  6. After updating, restart Excel and verify the update was applied via File > Account > Update Options
Caveat Standard security update with no expected breaking changes; updates are cumulative and include all prior security fixes

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

Fix this in 365 Apps Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,550
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,080.

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-2025-59224 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