Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2006-2492 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Microsoft Office. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2006-2492 is a buffer overflow vulnerability, tracked under CWE-120, that affects Microsoft Word components in Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP1 and SP2, and Microsoft Works Suites through 2006. The flaw arises from improper handling of a malformed object pointer in Word documents and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8.
User-assisted attackers can exploit the issue by supplying a crafted document that triggers arbitrary code execution when opened in an affected application. The vulnerability was first identified through zero-day attacks observed and reported by the Internet Storm Center in May 2006.
Advisories referenced at the Microsoft Security Response Center blog, Secunia, SecurityTracker, and ISC diaries describe the issue and point to available patches and mitigation guidance for the listed products. The attack vector requires victim interaction and was actively used in the wild at the time of disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2006-2492
Vulnerability Data
Buffer overflow in Microsoft Word in Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 Sp1 and SP2, and Microsoft Works Suites through 2006, allows user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed object pointer, as originally reported by ISC…
more
on 20060519 for a zero-day attack.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 08 June 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.2.1
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.
Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.
Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.
Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.