CVE-2022-21840: Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Overview

Severity

High (CVSS 8.8)

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Category

Remote Code Execution

Exploit Status

Not Exploited

Exploitation Likelihood

Less Likely

Patch Tuesday

2022-Jan

Released

2022-01-11

Last Updated

2022-01-13

EPSS Score

9.46% (percentile: 92.8%)

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. 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. Are the updates for the Microsoft Office for Mac currently available? The security update for Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac and Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021 are not immediately available. The updates will be released as soon as possible, and when they are available, customers will be notified via a revision to this CVE information. There are multiple update packages available for some of the affected software. Do I need to install all the updates listed in the Security Updates table for the software? Yes. Customers should apply all updates offered for the software installed on their systems. If multiple updates apply, they can be installed in any order.

Affected Products (26)

Microsoft Office

• Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016
• Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2013 Service Pack 1
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2019
• Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions
• Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions
• Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac
• Microsoft Office Online Server
• Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 32-bit Systems
• Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 64-bit Systems
• Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021
• Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 for 64-bit editions
• Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 for 32-bit editions
• Microsoft SharePoint Server Subscription Edition
• SharePoint Server Subscription Edition Language Pack
• 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 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 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
• Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2013 Service Pack 1

Security Updates (29)

• 5002113
• 5002118
• 5001995
• 5002102
• 5002109
• 5002108
• Release Notes
• 5002107
• 5002111
• 5002110
• 5002114
• 5002114
• 5002060
• 5002115
• 5002052
• 5002060
• 5002115
• 5002052
• 5002128
• 5002128
• 5002064
• 5002124
• 4462205
• 5002064
• 5002124
• 4462205
• 5002122
• 5002127
• 5002129

Acknowledgments

Anonymous Finder

Revision History

• 2022-01-11: Information published.
• 2022-01-13: Microsoft is announcing the availability of the security updates for Microsoft Office for Mac. Customers running affected Mac software should install the update for their product to be protected from this vulnerability. Customers running other Microsoft Office software do not need to take any action. See the Release Notes for more information and download links.