{"answers":{"affected":"It affects 4 products.","exploited":"Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2021-38646 in the wild since at least 28 Mar 2022, including in ransomware campaigns.","fix":"No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38646 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 18 Apr 2022.","what":"CVE-2021-38646 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Apps, published on 15 Sep 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link."},"fix_prompt":"Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38646 and fix it if it is affected.\n\nWhat it is: CVE-2021-38646 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Apps, published on 15 Sep 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.\nExploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2021-38646 in the wild since at least 28 Mar 2022, including in ransomware campaigns.\n\nAffected product: Microsoft 365 Apps. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.\n\nTask:\n1. 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.\n2. 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.\n3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.\n4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.\n5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.\n\nReference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38646/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38646/index.md)","id":"CVE-2021-38646","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38646/index.md","name":"CVE-2021-38646","record":{"aliases":["GHSA-846x-h43v-68x9"],"analysis":{"component_type":"desktop_application","fix_type":"patch","impacts":["code_execution"],"network_reachable":"adjacent_or_local","non_default_config":false,"product_category":"Microsoft Office","requires_auth":"none","summary":"Attackers can execute arbitrary code via the Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine, requiring users to apply vendor patches.","user_interaction":"required","vuln_class":"code_injection"},"analysis_generated_by":"qwen3.8-flash-next","assigner":"microsoft","cpe":[{"product":"365_apps","vendor":"microsoft"},{"product":"office","vendor":"microsoft"},{"product":"office_2016","vendor":"microsoft"},{"product":"office_2019","vendor":"microsoft"}],"cvss":{"score":7.8,"severity":"high","source":"cna","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C","version":"3.1"},"cwes":[],"description":"Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability","ecosystems":[],"exploits":{"exploitdb":0,"first_seen":null,"github_poc":0,"max_poc_stars":null,"metasploit":0,"nuclei":0,"refs":[],"tier":"exploited"},"has_fix":null,"headline":"Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine Remote Code Execution","id":"CVE-2021-38646","indexable":true,"kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-03-28","dueDate":"2022-04-18","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Known","product":"Office","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","vendorProject":"Microsoft","vulnerabilityName":"Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability"},"kind":"cve","links":{"ecosystem":null,"product":"microsoft:365_apps","products":["microsoft:365_apps","microsoft:office","microsoft:office_2016","microsoft:office_2019"],"type":"code_injection","year":"2021"},"n_packages":0,"n_references":1,"next":{"headline":"Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) Remote Code Execution","id":"CVE-2021-38647"},"packages":[],"prev":{"headline":"Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) Privilege Escalation","id":"CVE-2021-38645"},"products":["Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise","Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1","Microsoft Office 2016","Microsoft Office 2019"],"published":"2021-09-15","related":[{"cvss_score":9.8,"headline":"Microsoft Outlook Improper Input Validation","id":"CVE-2024-21413","kev_date_added":"2025-02-06","published":"2024-02-13"},{"cvss_score":9.8,"headline":"Microsoft Office Outlook Privilege Escalation","id":"CVE-2023-23397","kev_date_added":"2023-03-14","published":"2023-03-14"},{"cvss_score":8.8,"headline":"Microsoft Project Remote Code Execution Vulnerability","id":"CVE-2024-38189","kev_date_added":"2024-08-13","published":"2024-08-13"},{"cvss_score":8.8,"headline":"Microsoft Outlook Security Feature Bypass","id":"CVE-2023-35311","kev_date_added":"2023-07-11","published":"2023-07-11"},{"cvss_score":7.8,"headline":"Microsoft Office Word Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision","id":"CVE-2026-21514","kev_date_added":"2026-02-10","published":"2026-02-10"},{"cvss_score":7.8,"headline":"Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass","id":"CVE-2026-21509","kev_date_added":"2026-01-26","published":"2026-01-26"},{"cvss_score":7.8,"headline":"Microsoft Excel Security Feature Bypass","id":"CVE-2021-42292","kev_date_added":"2021-11-17","published":"2021-11-10"}],"sources":[{"class":"attribution","licence":"CVE Terms of Use (MITRE)","name":"CVE List","prefix":"CVE"},{"class":"attribution","licence":"US public information, NVD API terms","name":"NVD"},{"class":"open","licence":"CC0 1.0","name":"CISA KEV"},{"class":"attribution","licence":"FIRST CVSS licence","name":"CVSS (FIRST)"}],"ssvc":{"automatable":"no","exploitation":"active","technical_impact":"total"},"state":"PUBLISHED","updated":"2026-08-10","vendors":["Microsoft"]},"summary":"Attackers can execute arbitrary code via the Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine, requiring users to apply vendor patches.","url":"https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38646/"}