Cyber Resilience

CVE-2017-11826

Memory Safety in Microsoft Word 2007 … 2016

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCMemory Safety
Published
13 October 2017
Modified
22 April 2026
KEV Added
03 March 2022
Patch / 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 0.81 99.6th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2017-11826 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Microsoft Word. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Process Injection (T1055); ranked in the top 0.4% 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-2017-11826 is a memory corruption vulnerability, tracked under CWE-119, that affects multiple Microsoft Office and SharePoint components including Office 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Enterprise Server 2010, Office Web Apps Server 2010 and 2013, Word 2007 through 2016, Word Viewer, Word Automation Services, and Office Online Server. The flaw arises when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory, enabling remote code execution.

An attacker can exploit the issue by supplying a specially crafted document that triggers the memory corruption when opened by the victim. The CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R) indicates local attack vector with no privileges required and only user interaction needed, resulting in high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability once code execution is achieved.

Microsoft's Security Response Center advisory and related vendor bulletins address mitigation through available security updates for the affected products. Public analyses, including those from McAfee and 0patch, confirm the vulnerability was observed being exploited in the wild as a zero-day prior to patching.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Microsoft Office 2010, SharePoint Enterprise Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010, Web Applications, Office Web Apps Server 2010 and 2013, Word Viewer, Word 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016, Word Automation Services, and Office Online Server allow remote code execution when the…

more

software fails to properly handle objects in memory.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
03 March 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1055 Process Injection Stealth
Adversaries may inject code into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
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.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2016-7193Same product: Microsoft Office Compatibility Packboth on KEV
CVE-2021-31979Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2017-0101Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2015-2546Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2017-11882Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2014-6332Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2017-11774Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2019-1214Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2013-3660Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2011-1889Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV

Affected Assets

microsoft
office compatibility pack
all versions
microsoft
office online server
2016
microsoft
office web apps server
2010, 2013
microsoft
office word viewer
all versions
microsoft
sharepoint enterprise server
2016
microsoft
sharepoint server
2010, 2013
microsoft
word
2007, 2010, 2013, 2016

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

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.

addresses: CWE-119

Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.

addresses: CWE-119

Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.

addresses: CWE-119

Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.

addresses: CWE-119

Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.

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 SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

References