CVEs / CVE-2016-3235
CVE-2016-3235: Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability
- Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 3 Nov 2021
- high 7.8 CVSS 3.1 (NVD)
- EPSS 43.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 98% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
- Last changed at its sources
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Summary
Microsoft Office Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) dynamic link library (DLL) contains a side loading vulnerability due to it improperly validating input before loading libraries. Successful exploitation allows for remote code execution.
Description
Microsoft Visio 2007 SP3, Visio 2010 SP2, Visio 2013 SP1, Visio 2016, Visio Viewer 2007 SP3, and Visio Viewer 2010 mishandle library loading, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability."
Affected and fixed versions
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| n/a n/a | n/a | — |
Exploitation
| In CISA KEV since | 3 Nov 2021 |
|---|---|
| Due date for US federal agencies | 3 May 2022 |
| Used in ransomware campaigns | Unknown |
| Required action | Apply updates per vendor instructions. |
Severity
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HScored by NVD |
|---|
References
- CVE-2016-3235 on NVD
- CVE-2016-3235 in the CISA KEV catalog
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/137490/Microsoft-Visio-DLL-Hijacking.html Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Jun/32 Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/538685/100/0/threaded Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036093 Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-070 Patch, Vendor Advisory
- https://www.securify.nl/advisory/SFY20150804/microsoft_visio_multiple_dll_side_loading_vulnerabilities.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-3235 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.