365 AppsApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2026-55134

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.19725.20434 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 5 weeks old

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
Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office Word allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

In the news

Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 1 outlet this week · latest 1mo ago

Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Office Word enables local attackers to execute arbitrary code by overflowing a stack-allocated buffer. The CVSS 7.8 indicates high severity with low attack complexity and no privileges required for exploitation.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Office Word as they become available. Until a patch is released, restrict opening untrusted Word documents and monitor for suspicious Word processes.

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
Microsoft 365Application
Affected:all versions
Office 2019Application
Affected:all versions
Office 2021Application
Affected:all versions
Office 2024Application
Affected:all versions
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:< 16.0.19725.20434= 2016= 2019
WordApplication
Affected:= 2016

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. Verify Microsoft Word installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell to list installed Microsoft Office/Word applications
    Affected if Microsoft Word is listed as installed with any version matching the affected product ranges (Office 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, Microsoft 365 Apps, or Microsoft 365)
  2. Check installed Office/Word version number
    Open Word, go to File > Account > About Word, or run 'winword.exe /?' from Command Prompt to display version information
    Affected if The displayed version matches Microsoft Word 2016 specifically, or falls within Office 2019/2021/2024/Microsoft 365 versions listed as affected
  3. Confirm Microsoft 365 Apps or Office 365 installation
    Open any Microsoft 365 app, go to File > Account, or check via 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration' in PowerShell
    Affected if Microsoft 365 Apps or Microsoft 365 subscription products are installed (listed as all versions affected)
  4. Check SharePoint Server version if applicable
    Open SharePoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage servers in this farm, or run 'Get-SPFarm | Select-Object BuildVersion' in SharePoint Management Shell
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2016 or 2019 is installed, or version is earlier than 16.0.19725.20434
  5. Identify Word component in Office installation
    Check for WINWORD.EXE presence in typical Office installation paths (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office## or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office##), or query registry HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\WINWORD.EXE
    Affected if WINWORD.EXE executable exists on the system, confirming Word is installed

Your environment is affected if Microsoft Word (any version for Microsoft 365/Office 2019-2024, or version 2016 specifically) or vulnerable SharePoint Server versions are installed on your system.

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 16.0.19725.20434 or later
Fixed in 16.0.19725.20434
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Office Word as they become available. Until a patch is released, restrict opening untrusted Word documents and monitor for suspicious Word processes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply Microsoft security updates via Windows Update/Microsoft Update; for SharePoint Server, upgrade to version 16.0.19725.20434 or later

  1. Check Windows Update or Microsoft Update for the latest Microsoft Office security patches
  2. If automatic updates are enabled, ensure they are applied automatically
  3. For SharePoint Server, update to version 16.0.19725.20434 or later
  4. After patching, verify the update was successfully applied via Office app version information
  5. Restart affected systems if required by the update
Caveat Standard patching carries minimal risk; ensure normal backup procedures are followed before applying updates to production systems

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-55134 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-55134 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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