CVEs / CVE-2017-0261

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

Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 3 Mar 2022
high 7.8 CVSS 3.1 (NVD)
EPSS 78.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
Last changed at its sources 17 Jun 2026

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Summary

Microsoft Office contains a use-after-free vulnerability which can allow for remote code execution.
CISA, Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

Description

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.
The CVE record, via NVD · published 12 May 2017 · NVD status: Analyzed

Affected and fixed versions

As stated by the CVE record (from the CNA)
Product	Affected	Fixed in
Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Office	Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016	—

Exploitation

In CISA KEV since	3 Mar 2022
Due date for US federal agencies	24 Mar 2022
Used in ransomware campaigns	Unknown
Required action	Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Severity

CVSS 3.1	7.8 high `CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Scored by NVD
Weakness	CWE-416

References

CVE-2017-0261 on NVD
CVE-2017-0261 in the CISA KEV catalog
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98104 Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1038444 Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2017-0261 Patch, Vendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-0261 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.