CVE-2021-28454: Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
High (CVSS 7.8)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Category
Remote Code Execution
Exploit Status
Not Exploited
Exploitation Likelihood
Less Likely
Patch Tuesday
2021-Apr
Released
2021-04-13
Last Updated
2021-04-15
EPSS Score
15.53% (percentile: 94.7%)

FAQ

Is the Preview Pane an attack vector for this vulnerability? No, the Preview Pane is not an attack vector. According to the CVSS metric, user interaction is required (UI:R). What interaction would the user have to do? Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Excel. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) containing a specially crafted file designed to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file.

Affected Products (20)

Microsoft Office

  • Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions
  • Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions
  • Microsoft Office Online Server
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 32-bit Systems
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 64-bit Systems
  • Microsoft Excel 2016 (32-bit edition)
  • Microsoft Excel 2016 (64-bit edition)
  • Microsoft Office 2016 (32-bit edition)
  • Microsoft Office 2016 (64-bit edition)
  • Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Excel 2013 RT Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Office 2013 RT Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)
  • Microsoft Office Web Apps Server 2013 Service Pack 1

Security Updates (14)

Acknowledgments

AIOFuzzer Working with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative

Revision History

  • 2021-04-13: Information published.
  • 2021-04-15: Added acknowledgements. This is an informational change only.