CVE-2015-1641 — Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability
Microsoft Word 2007 SP3, Office 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Word 2013 SP1, Word 2013 RT SP1, Word for Mac 2011, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Word Automation Services on SharePoint Server 2010 SP2 and 2013 SP1, and Office Web Apps Server 2010 SP2 and 2013 SP1 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted RTF document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
- Exploited by 3 threat actor(s) (MITRE ATT&CK)+10
- EPSS 97.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — docs.microsoft.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
CISA required action CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
US federal deadline: May 3, 2022 — passed 1626 day(s) ago
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, Microsoft Office Web Apps…).
- Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
- EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Office | version 2010-sp2 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Microsoft | Office Compatibility Pack | versions not specified by the source | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Microsoft | Office Web Apps | version 2010-sp2version 2013-sp1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Microsoft | Outlook | version 2011 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Microsoft | Sharepoint Server | version 2010-sp2version 2013-sp1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Microsoft | Word | version 2007-sp3version 2010-sp2version 2011version 2013-sp1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 9.3 | CVSS 2.0 | High | 8.6 | 10.0 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
CISA KEV details CISA
CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.
CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.
Threat actors exploiting this CVE MITRE ATT&CK
According to MITRE ATT&CK.
APT41 G0096Confucius G0142Patchwork G0040EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 97.25%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
- Hunt retroactively in logs from before Nov 3, 2021 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Fix documented
- Affected products added · microsoft/office, microsoft/office compatibility pack, microsoft/office web apps, microsoft/outlook, microsoft/sharepoin
- Source status changed · Published → Analyzed
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Published
- SSVC assessment updated
- Added to CISA KEV (detected)
- Record created in this database
- 2021
- Added to CISA KEV catalog
- 2015
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 3× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
6 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-97783 Microsoft Office SharePoint Spoofing Vulnerability 2d
- Medium CVE-2026-97782 Microsoft Office SharePoint Tampering Vulnerability 2d
- High CVE-2026-97755 Microsoft Office Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability 2d
- High CVE-2026-96044 Microsoft Office SharePoint Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability 2d
- High CVE-2026-88204 Microsoft Office SharePoint Spoofing Vulnerability 2d
- Medium CVE-2026-88209 Microsoft Office SharePoint Spoofing Vulnerability 2d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2015-1641 is "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Office (Microsoft); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 97.25% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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