CVE-2020-1563 Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening malicious files, potentially gaining full system control if the user has admin rights.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2020-1563?
CVE-2020-1563 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Apps, published on 17 Aug 2020. 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
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office software when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Office. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Office handles objects in memory.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-1563?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Microsoft 365 Apps, Microsoft Office.
How do I fix CVE-2020-1563?
No fix has been published for CVE-2020-1563 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2020-1563 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-1563 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft 365 Apps
- CVE-2024-21413 Microsoft Outlook Improper Input Validation
- CVE-2023-23397 Microsoft Office Outlook Privilege Escalation
- CVE-2024-38189 Microsoft Project Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- CVE-2023-35311 Microsoft Outlook Security Feature Bypass
- CVE-2026-21514 Microsoft Office Word Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision
Sources
Also known as GHSA-2cj6-37mq-778q.