CVE-2023-36896: Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
High (CVSS 7.8)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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
2023-Aug
Released
2023-08-08
Last Updated
2023-08-15
EPSS Score
0.77% (percentile: 73.5%)

FAQ

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. According to the CVSS metric, the attack vector is local (AV:L). Why does the CVE title indicate that this is a remote code execution? The word Remote in the title refers to the location of the attacker. This type of exploit is sometimes referred to as Arbitrary Code Execution (ACE). The attack itself is carried out locally. This means an attacker or victim needs to execute code from the local machine to exploit the vulnerability. According to the CVSS metric, user interaction is required (UI:R). What interaction would the user have to do? An attacker must send the user a malicious file and convince them to open it.

Affected Products (14)

Microsoft Office

  • 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 Excel 2016 (32-bit edition)
  • Microsoft Excel 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)

Security Updates (6)

Acknowledgments

Office Security Team and Excel Engineering Team

Revision History

  • 2023-08-08: Information published.
  • 2023-08-15: Updated the build numbers. This is an informational update only.