CVEs / CVE-2012-1854
CVE-2012-1854: Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability
- Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 13 Apr 2026
- medium 6.9 CVSS 2.0 (NVD)
- EPSS 20.8% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
- Last changed at its sources
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Summary
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) contains an insecure library loading vulnerability that could allow for remote code execution.
Description
Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and Summit Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications SDK allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .docx file, aka "Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in July 2012.
Affected and fixed versions
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| n/a n/a | n/a | — |
Exploitation
| In CISA KEV since | 13 Apr 2026 |
|---|---|
| Due date for US federal agencies | 27 Apr 2026 |
| Used in ransomware campaigns | Unknown |
| Required action | Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. |
Severity
| CVSS 2.0 | 6.9 mediumAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:CScored by NVD |
|---|---|
| Weakness | CWE-426 |
References
- CVE-2012-1854 on NVD
- CVE-2012-1854 in the CISA KEV catalog
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 (cited by CISA)
- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-192A.html US Government Resource
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950 Broken Link
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityBulletins/2012/ms12-046 Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1854 US Government Resource
Sources
Exploitation status from the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EPSS scores from FIRST. Descriptions, severity and references from the National Vulnerability Database. Open-source package versions from OSV (CC-BY 4.0). Text is shown as each source states it; Stackurity does not edit it. Check the vendor's advisory before acting.
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.