# CVE-2015-1641: Microsoft Office Memory Corruption

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening a crafted RTF document in Microsoft Word.

- **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 3 Nov 2021 (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:** 14 Apr 2015
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7p4q-fv59-h67q

## What is CVE-2015-1641?

CVE-2015-1641 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 14 Apr 2015. 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

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."

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-1641?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, Microsoft Office Web Apps, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Sharepoint Server, Microsoft Word.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-1641?

No fix has been published for CVE-2015-1641 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 3 May 2022.

## Is CVE-2015-1641 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2015-1641 in the wild since at least 3 Nov 2021.

Public exploit code:

- Script to extract malicious payload and decoy document from CVE-2015-1641 exploit documents (github_poc): https://github.com/Cyberclues/rtf_exploit_extractor

## 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-2015-1641 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-1641 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 14 Apr 2015. 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-2015-1641 in the wild since at least 3 Nov 2021.

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-2015-1641/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1641/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-1641
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-1641
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-1641

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1641/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.