Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-21378

RCE in Microsoft 365 Apps

Published
13 February 2024
Modified
10 August 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.11 96th percentile
Risk Priority 79 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-21378 is a high-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Apps. 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 4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

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 Outlook contains a remote code execution vulnerability tracked as CVE-2024-21378 and assigned CWE-94. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, low required privileges, and no user interaction, enabling an attacker to achieve full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on affected Outlook installations.

An authenticated attacker with network access can send specially crafted messages or content that trigger code execution on the target system, resulting in complete compromise of the Outlook process and potentially the underlying host.

Microsoft has published an advisory for CVE-2024-21378 in its security update guide at the referenced URL. The current EPSS score of 0.2731 matches its recorded peak and does not indicate a post-disclosure rise in observed exploitation interest.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Microsoft Outlook Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
T1059.006 Python Execution
Adversaries may abuse Python commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-33131Same product: Microsoft Office
CVE-2009-0557Same product: Microsoft Office
CVE-2009-0238Same product: Microsoft Office
CVE-2013-3906Same product: Microsoft Office
CVE-2012-0158Same product: Microsoft Office
CVE-2024-21643Same vendor: Microsoft
CVE-2009-0556Same vendor: Microsoft
CVE-2024-43469Same vendor: Microsoft
CVE-2023-36572Same vendor: Microsoft
CVE-2024-29991Same vendor: Microsoft

Affected Assets

microsoft
365 apps
all versions
microsoft
office
2019
microsoft
office long term servicing channel
2021
microsoft
outlook
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)
  • V1.3.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation finds code paths that accept and execute externally influenced strings.

Input validation directly stops untrusted data from being used to construct executable code without neutralization.

Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.

Requiring documented secure development standards and tools enforces use of safe code-generation APIs and escaping.

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

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

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.

prevents

Banning unapproved code samples and unauthenticated web services, combined with secure-coding standards and SAST, prevents the dynamic generation or inclusion of attacker-supplied code.

none

Controls that restrict unauthorized or malicious code from being introduced via external networks or removable media limit opportunities for an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code.

References