# CVE-2017-0199: Microsoft Office and WordPad Remote Code Execution

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening a crafted document in Microsoft Office or WordPad.

- **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), used in ransomware
- **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:** 12 Apr 2017
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mrf9-75pc-cjmm

## What is CVE-2017-0199?

CVE-2017-0199 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 12 Apr 2017. 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 Office 2007 SP3, Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Microsoft Office 2013 SP1, Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted document, aka "Microsoft Office/WordPad Remote Code Execution Vulnerability w/Windows API."

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-0199?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2012, Microsoft Windows Vista, Philips Intellispace Portal.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-0199?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-0199 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 3 May 2022.

## Is CVE-2017-0199 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2017-0199 in the wild since at least 3 Nov 2021, including in ransomware campaigns.

Public exploit code:

- Exploit toolkit CVE-2017-0199 - v4.0 is a handy python script which provides pentesters and security researchers a quick and effective way to test Microsoft Office RCE. It could generate a malicious RTF/PPSX file and deliver metasploit / meterpreter / other payload to victim without any complex configuration. (github_poc): https://github.com/bhdresh/CVE-2017-0199
- CVE-2017-0199 (github_poc): https://github.com/haibara3839/CVE-2017-0199-master
- Quick and dirty fix to OLE2 executing code via .hta (github_poc): https://github.com/NotAwful/CVE-2017-0199-Fix
- https://github.com/SyFi/cve-2017-0199 (github_poc): https://github.com/SyFi/cve-2017-0199
- Exploit toolkit CVE-2017-0199 - v2.0 is a handy python script which provides a quick and effective way to exploit Microsoft RTF RCE. It could generate a malicious RTF file and deliver metasploit / meterpreter / any other payload to victim without any complex configuration. (github_poc): https://github.com/Exploit-install/CVE-2017-0199
- RTF Cleaner, tries to extract URL from malicious RTF samples using CVE-2017-0199 & CVE-2017-8759 (github_poc): https://github.com/jacobsoo/RTF-Cleaner

## 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-2017-0199 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-0199 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 12 Apr 2017. 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-2017-0199 in the wild since at least 3 Nov 2021, including in ransomware campaigns.

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-2017-0199/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-0199/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-0199
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-0199
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-0199

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-0199/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.