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365 AppsApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2025-59225

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

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel where memory is freed but still accessed, allowing an attacker to execute code locally on the affected system.

MitigationApply the latest Microsoft Office security updates to address the vulnerability, and ensure enterprise patch management processes include Microsoft Office products.

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. Confirm Excel installation
    Open Microsoft Excel application, or check Programs and Features for Microsoft Excel entry
    Affected if Excel is not installed, the system is not vulnerable to this specific Excel vulnerability
  2. Determine Excel version number
    In Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel; alternatively, right-click excel.exe in its installation folder and view Properties > Details > File version
    Affected if Unable to determine version - cannot assess vulnerability status
  3. Compare against affected desktop versions
    Compare your installed Excel version to: Microsoft 365 Apps (all versions), Excel 2016, Excel 2019, Office LTSC 2021, Office LTSC 2024. Note: the '=' notation in the advisory indicates these specific versions are affected
    Affected if Your Excel version matches one of the listed affected versions (2016, 2019, 2021, 2024) or you are running Microsoft 365 Apps
  4. Check Office Online Server version (if applicable)
    If running Microsoft Office Online Server, check version by running Get-OfficeOnlineServerPowerShell or viewing the version in the Office Online Server administration console
    Affected if Office Online Server version is lower than 16.0.10417.20059

A system is affected if it runs any version of Microsoft 365 Apps, Excel 2016, Excel 2019, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021, Office LTSC 2024, or Office Online Server versions 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 the latest Microsoft Office security updates to address the vulnerability, and ensure enterprise patch management processes include Microsoft Office products.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft 365 (latest monthly channel); Office Online Server 16.0.10417.20059 or later; apply respective MSRC security updates for Office 2016/2019/2021/2024

  1. Check your current Microsoft Office/Excel version via File > Account in the application
  2. For Office Online Server, upgrade to version 16.0.10417.20059 or later
  3. For Microsoft 365 apps, apply the latest monthly security update via Windows Update or the Microsoft Update Catalog
  4. For Office 2016, 2019, 2021, and 2024, apply the corresponding security update from the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC)
  5. Restart all Office applications after applying updates
  6. Verify the fix by checking that the Office version shows the patched build number
Caveat Standard Office update risks - ensure compatibility with existing add-ins and macros before deployment in production environments

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

Fix this in 365 Apps Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.

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-2025-59225 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