CVE-2026-20943
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path in Microsoft Office 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 confidenceThis is an untrusted search path vulnerability in Microsoft Office where the application searches for files (likely DLLs or executables) in insecure locations that could be controlled by an attacker. By placing malicious files in these search paths, an unauthorized attacker can achieve local code execution with the privileges of the Office application.
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= 2016< 16.0.19426.20170< 16.0.19127.20442= 2016= 2019CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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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Check Microsoft Office versionOpen any Office application (Word, Excel, etc.), go to File > Account > About [App] or run 'winword /?' command prompt to view versionAffected if Version is exactly 2016
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Check Microsoft Office Deployment Tool versionLocate setup.exe in the Office Deployment Tool installation directory, right-click > Properties > Details tab, or run 'setup.exe /?'Affected if Version is less than 16.0.19426.20170
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Check Microsoft SharePoint Server versionOpen SharePoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage servers in this farm, or check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\16.0\Config\VersionAffected if Version is less than 16.0.19127.20442, or is 2016, or is 2019
The environment is affected if Microsoft Office version is exactly 2016, Office Deployment Tool is below 16.0.19426.20170, or SharePoint Server is below 16.0.19127.20442 or is version 2016 or 2019.
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 · scoped16.0.19127.2044216.0.19426.20170
Apply Microsoft security patches for Office when released. Until then, ensure users do not have write access to directories in Office's search path and exercise caution with files from untrusted sources.
Office Deployment Tool: 16.0.19426.20170 or later; SharePoint Server: 16.0.19127.20442 or later
- 1. For Office Deployment Tool: Download and install version 16.0.19426.20170 or later from official Microsoft sources
- 2. For SharePoint Server 2016/2019: Apply security update KBxxxxx (refer to MSRC release for your specific build) that includes version 16.0.19127.20442 or later
- 3. Verify the installation by checking the product version in Office or SharePoint admin centers
- 4. Ensure no untrusted DLL locations exist in system PATH environment variables that could be exploited
- 5. Restart affected services after patching
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,928.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20943 — 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-2026-20943 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