CVE-2025-62563
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 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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting a dangling pointer after memory has been freed. The vulnerability can be triggered by opening a specially crafted Excel file, leading to potential code execution in the context of the current user.
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= 2016= 2019= 2021= 2024< 16.0.10417.20075CVSS 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.
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Confirm Microsoft Excel is installedOpen PowerShell and run: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\EXCEL.EXE' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object -ExpandProperty '(default)'Affected if Excel is not found on the system (not affected)
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Determine the installed Excel version for Microsoft 365 or Office 2016+Open PowerShell and run: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office*\EXCEL.EXE' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).VersionInfo.FileVersion OR check registry: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object PlatformToPublish,VersionToReportAffected if Version is in the affected range (Excel 2016 or later, Office 2019 or later, or any Microsoft 365 Apps version)
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Check Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel versionRun: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\LTSC\Common\InstallRoot' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Path,VersionAffected if Version is 2021 or later (2021, 2024) or any LTSC version installed
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Check if Microsoft Office Online Server is installedRun: Get-WindowsFeature -Name OfficeOnlineServer -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue OR check registry: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\OnlineServer\16.0\Setup' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueAffected if Office Online Server is installed with version lower than 16.0.10417.20075
The environment is affected if any version of Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office (2016 or later), Microsoft 365 Apps, or Microsoft Office Online Server (version below 16.0.10417.20075) is installed, since the vulnerability can be triggered by opening a specially crafted Excel file.
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.
dbcve · scoped16.0.10417.20075
Apply Microsoft security updates for Office Excel as soon as they become available. Until then, restrict opening of untrusted or unexpected Excel files, disable macro execution, and consider running Excel in sandboxed or isolated environments.
Apply Microsoft Security Update KB5002772 or later for affected Office products; for Office Online Server upgrade to version 16.0.10417.20075 or later
- Open Microsoft Word (or any Office application) and go to File > Account
- Click on Update Options > Update Now to check for and install latest Office updates
- Alternatively, navigate to microsoft.com/download and search for the specific Office version update KB number provided in the security advisory
- For enterprise environments, ensure WSUS or Microsoft Configuration Manager is configured to deploy the latest Office security updates
- Verify the update was installed successfully by checking Office version information under File > Account > About Excel
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-62563 — 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-2025-62563 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
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- 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