# CVE-2019-1205: Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening a malicious Word document, potentially compromising the user's system.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Aug 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3jff-2rmh-jjj7

## What is CVE-2019-1205?

CVE-2019-1205 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 14 Aug 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. The file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user.
To exploit the vulnerability, a user must open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Word software.
Two possible email attack scenarios exist for this vulnerability:

With the first email attack scenario, an attacker could send a specially crafted email message to the user and wait for the user to click on the message. When the message renders via Microsoft Word in the Outlook Preview Pane, an attack could be triggered.
With the second scenario, an attacker could attach a specially crafted file to an email, send it to a user, and convince them to open it.

In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) that contains a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. However, an attacker would have no way to force the user to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or other message, and then convince the user to open the specially crafted file.
The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Word handles files in memory.
For users who view their emails in Outlook, the Preview Pane attack vector can be mitigated by disabling this feature. The following registry keys can be set to disable the Preview Pane in Outlook on Windows, either via manual editing of the registry or by modifying Group Policy.
Note Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or view the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe.
Outlook 2010:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Options
DWORD: DisableReadingPane
Value: 1

Outlook 2013:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Options
DWORD: DisableReadingPane
Value: 1

Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, and Office 365 ProPlus:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options
DWORD: DisableReadingPane
Value: 1

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-1205?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office 365 Proplus, Microsoft Office Online Server, Microsoft Sharepoint Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-1205?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-1205 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-1205 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2019-1205 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-1205 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 14 Aug 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2019-1205/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1205/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-1205
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-1205
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-1205

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1205/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.