CVE-2019-0541
RCE in Microsoft Office 2010 … 2019
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2019-0541 is a high-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Microsoft Office. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); 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.
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the MSHTML engine due to improper input validation, tracked as CVE-2019-0541 with CWE-77. It affects Microsoft Office, Office 365 ProPlus, Microsoft Office Word Viewer, Microsoft Excel Viewer, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 10, and Internet Explorer 11. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, no required privileges, and required user interaction, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
An attacker can exploit the flaw by delivering specially crafted content over the network that triggers the vulnerable MSHTML engine in a user's browser or Office application. Successful exploitation allows remote code execution in the context of the current user, enabling arbitrary code to run, data to be accessed or modified, and system availability to be disrupted.
Microsoft has published an advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com detailing the issue and available updates. Public exploit code for the vulnerability has been posted to Exploit-DB, indicating that proof-of-concept attacks are readily accessible to potential adversaries.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2019-1313
Vulnerability Data
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the MSHTML engine inproperly validates input, aka "MSHTML Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability." This affects Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Word Viewer, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Excel Viewer,…
more
Internet Explorer 10, Office 365 ProPlus.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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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 SDLC practices directly require input validation and neutralization that prevent command injection.
Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect anomalous command execution resulting from injection.
Identifying recorded vulnerabilities enables remediation of command-injection flaws before exploitation.
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 standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.
Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and command construction practices that directly prevent command injection.
Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.
Secure architecture principles reduce the attack surface but do not prescribe the specific neutralization techniques needed.
Environment separation limits the blast radius of an exploited command injection but does not prevent the flaw itself.