CVE-2026-33095
Published: 14 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-33095 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 21.2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-33095 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) affecting Microsoft Office Word. Published on 2026-04-14T18:17:31.390, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The issue enables an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally through flawed memory handling in the Word component.
Exploitation requires local access (AV:L) with low attack complexity (AC:L) and no privileges (PR:N), but user interaction is necessary (UI:R), such as opening a specially crafted document. A successful attack allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the Word process without scope change (S:U), resulting in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Microsoft's Security Response Center provides update guidance and mitigation details for this vulnerability at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-33095.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-22615
Vulnerability details
Use after free in Microsoft Office Word allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Use-after-free RCE in Word triggered by opening crafted document directly enables client-side exploitation (T1203), malicious file user execution (T1204.002), and common spearphishing attachment delivery (T1566.001).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly addresses the use-after-free vulnerability by requiring timely application of Microsoft patches for Office Word as provided in the MSRC update guidance.
Implements memory protection mechanisms such as ASLR, DEP, and control-flow integrity to prevent arbitrary code execution from use-after-free flaws in Word.
Deploys malicious code protection tools like antivirus and EDR to scan and block specially crafted Word documents exploiting the vulnerability.