# CVE-2012-1854: Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading

> Local attackers can gain privileges via a malicious DLL in the working directory when opening documents in Microsoft Office or VBA.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 13 Apr 2026 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Jul 2012
- **Updated:** 14 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-77fm-4w36-vpp3

## What is CVE-2012-1854?

CVE-2012-1854 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 10 Jul 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and Summit Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications SDK allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .docx file, aka "Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in July 2012.

Weakness: CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-1854?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Sdk.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-1854?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-1854 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 27 Apr 2026.

## Is CVE-2012-1854 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2012-1854 in the wild since at least 13 Apr 2026.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office

- [CVE-2018-0798](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0798/): Microsoft Office Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-1770](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1770/): Microsoft Office Uninitialized Memory Use (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2006-2492](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-2492/): Microsoft Word Malformed Object Pointer (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0802](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0802/): Microsoft Office Memory Corruption (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-11882](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11882/): Microsoft Office Memory Corruption (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-1854 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-1854 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 10 Jul 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2012-1854 in the wild since at least 13 Apr 2026.

Affected product: Microsoft Office. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1854/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1854/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-1854
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1854
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-1854

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1854/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.