Cyber Resilience

CVE-2014-1761

Memory Safety in Microsoft Word 2003 … 2013

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
25 March 2014
Modified
21 April 2026
KEV Added
15 February 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.77 99.5th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2014-1761 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Microsoft Word. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 0.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Microsoft Word 2003 SP3 through 2013, Word Viewer, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Office for Mac 2011, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 and 2013, and Office Web Apps 2010 and 2013 are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CWE-787) that can be triggered by specially crafted RTF data. The flaw permits memory corruption that may result in either arbitrary code execution or a denial of service condition. The issue received a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 and was publicly disclosed on 25 March 2014.

An attacker can deliver the malicious RTF content through a crafted document that a user opens locally or that is processed by server-side components such as Word Automation Services or Office Web Apps. Successful exploitation grants the attacker the ability to run arbitrary code in the context of the current user or to crash the affected process, with no privileges required beyond convincing the target to handle the file.

Microsoft security bulletin MS14-017 and the associated advisory 2953095 address the vulnerability through cumulative updates for the listed products. The bulletin recommends applying the patches as the primary mitigation and notes that the flaw had already been exploited in targeted attacks at the time of release.

The vulnerability appears in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming continued real-world exploitation since its initial use in March 2014.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Microsoft Word 2003 SP3, 2007 SP3, 2010 SP1 and SP2, 2013, and 2013 RT; Word Viewer; Office Compatibility Pack SP3; Office for Mac 2011; Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP1 and SP2 and 2013; Office Web Apps 2010…

more

SP1 and SP2; and Office Web Apps Server 2013 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via crafted RTF data, as exploited in the wild in March 2014.

CWE(s)
CWE-787
KEV Date Added
15 February 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2015-1641Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2012-2539Same product: Microsoft Office Compatibility Packboth on KEV
CVE-2015-2424Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2018-0802Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2018-0798Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2009-0563Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2012-1889Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2015-1642Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2010-3333Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV
CVE-2009-3129Same product: Microsoft Officeboth on KEV

Affected Assets

microsoft
office
2011
microsoft
office compatibility pack
all versions
microsoft
office web apps
2010
microsoft
office web apps server
2013
microsoft
sharepoint server
2010, 2013
microsoft
word
2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
microsoft
word viewer
all versions

Mitigating Controls

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.

SI-16 Memory Protection
addresses: CWE-787

Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References