CVE-2017-0261 — Microsoft Office Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remote code execution vulnerability when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability". This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2017-0262 and CVE-2017-

01What is this vulnerability?

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remote code execution vulnerability when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability". This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2017-0262 and CVE-2017-0281.

02Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions
Microsoft Corporation	Microsoft Office	Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016

03Active exploitation status

Yes — actively exploited. Added to the CISA KEV catalog on 2022-03-03. Ransomware use: Unknown.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Open the Sigma generator with a pre-filled prompt for this CVE to draft a starting detection in your stack of choice:

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07Related CVEs

08Timeline

• Published: 2017-05-12T14:00:00.000Z
• Last modified: 2025-10-21T23:55:40.908Z
• Added to CISA KEV: 2022-03-03
• BOD 22-01 due: 2022-03-24

09References

• portal.msrc.microsoft.com — https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2017-0261
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98104
• www.securitytracker.com — http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1038444