SummaryAI-written · claude-haiku-5-5AI-written · claude-haiku-5-5Written by a language model from the source data on this page. Not reviewed by a person. Generated 23 Oct 2026.
A memory corruption flaw in Microsoft Office (2007 SP3, 2010 SP2, 2013 SP1 and 2016) stems from improper handling of objects in memory. An attacker can run arbitrary code in the context of the current user, and exploitation requires a local attack path with no privileges needed but user interaction.
Official description · NVDSource dataSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset. Copied from NVD.
Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1, and Microsoft Office 2016 allow an attacker to run arbitrary code in the context of the current user by failing to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability". This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2017-11884.
Priority scorePatchfirst’s 0 to 100 ranking. It adds points for CISA KEV listing, ransomware use, EPSS, threat reports, public exploit code and CVSS. Every CVE page shows the breakdown.Breakdown
88.5 / 100
Exploited
Yes, in CISA KEV
Reports
13
Tactics
2/15
How an attack unfolds
Based on MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. mappings. Select a step to see the evidence.
Exploitation timelineDated milestones for a CVE: when it was disclosed, when exploit code became public, when exploitation was confirmed, and when threat reports named it.
First seen exploited 12 days after disclosure. Public exploit code (Metasploit) was available the same day.
CISA KEV listing is when exploitation was confirmed, not necessarily the first attack.
MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. techniques
2 TechniqueOne specific attacker behaviour in MITRE ATT&CK, such as T1190 “Exploit Public-Facing Application”. IDs with a dot, like T1059.004, are sub-techniques., grouped by TacticThe attacker’s goal at a stage of an attack in MITRE ATT&CK, such as Initial Access or Persistence. Each technique belongs to one or more tactics. in kill-chain order, 6 cited passagesSourceSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset.2
Source dataSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset. CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Memory Corruption.MITRE CTID mapping of the KEV entry · how it is exploited
CVE-2020-0688 exists in Microsoft Office, which is prone to a memory corruption vulnerability allowing an attacker to run arbitrary code if unpatched, in the context of the current user, by failing to properly handle objects in memory. Cyber actors continued to exploit this vulnerability in Microsoft Office. The vulnerability is ideal for phishing campaigns, and it enables RCE on vulnerable systems.
Source dataSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset. CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Memory Corruption.MITRE CTID mapping of the KEV entry · primary impact
CVE-2020-0688 exists in Microsoft Office, which is prone to a memory corruption vulnerability allowing an attacker to run arbitrary code if unpatched, in the context of the current user, by failing to properly handle objects in memory. Cyber actors continued to exploit this vulnerability in Microsoft Office. The vulnerability is ideal for phasing campaigns, and it enables RCE on vulnerable systems.
Lower-confidence links (4)
These come from early or generic mappings, text matching, or contradict this CVE’s details (for example a public-facing technique on a bug that needs a user to open a file). Shown for completeness.
Exploitation for Client ExecutionT1203SourceSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset. CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1); AnnoCTR expert entity-linking label (train split).CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 "Uncategorized" mapping (not staged by impact)
Malicious FileT1204.002SourceSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset. CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1).CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 "Uncategorized" mapping (not staged by impact)
Software Deployment ToolsT1072MachineMachine-matchedFound by keyword or pattern matching over threat-report text. Not reviewed by a person. TRAM2 annotated sentence label.machine-matched from report text
PhishingT1566MachineMachine-matchedFound by keyword or pattern matching over threat-report text. Not reviewed by a person. AnnoCTR expert entity-linking label (train split).machine-matched from report text
Detection
1 rule for this CVE · 119 general rules for its techniques
Rules for this CVE
1Sigma ruleAn open, vendor-neutral detection rule for log data. Security teams convert Sigma rules into searches for their own SIEM. that reference CVE-2017-11882 directly.
Named in 13 threat reportsMachineMachine-matchedFound by keyword or pattern matching over threat-report text. Not reviewed by a person. Exact CVE id found in the report text.
13 reportsKaspersky2Cisco Talosnetskope.com+9Nov 2018 – May 2022 · 8 undated
Reports are matched by finding the exact id CVE-2017-11882 in their text; nobody has reviewed the match. One passage is shown per report, at most 320 characters, linked to the original.
…the Equation Editor application is automatically launched to run the embedded objects containing the shellcode to exploit known vulnerabilities described by CVE-2017-11882, CVE-2018-0798 and CVE-2018-0802 — all in Microsoft Office — then downloads the trojan from the hosting server and runs it on the victim's…
Even the Word documents attached to emails have used a variety of techniques, including malicious macros, embedded JavaScript and the exploitation of CVE-2017-11882 to install payloads onto the system.
**VenomKit.** VenomKit is a tool that threat actors can use to craft malicious Rich Text File (RTF) documents that exploit multiple vulnerabilities, including CVE-2017–11882, CVE-2018–0802, and CVE-2018–8174.
RoyalRoad leverages a specific set of vulnerabilities, including CVE-2018-0802, CVE-2018-0798, and CVE-2017-11882, within the Equation Editor of Microsoft Office.
Previously, Cloud Atlas dropped its “validator” implant named “PowerShower” directly, after exploiting the Microsoft Equation vulnerability (CVE-2017-11882) mixed with CVE-2018-0802.
To deliver their malware, the cyber criminals use spearphishing emails with various types of attachments: MS Office documents or spreadsheet files exploiting some known vulnerability like CVE-2017-11882, or documents with Ole2Link and SCT.
Specially-crafted documents, exploiting Office vulnerabilities such as CVE-2017-11882 and CVE-2017-8570, have been leveraged, even in present day campaigns.