# CVE-2023-33137: Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

> An attacker can execute arbitrary code by exploiting a double-free vulnerability in Microsoft Excel.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`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`)
- **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 available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 28 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vx98-w6gr-g2gv

## What is CVE-2023-33137?

CVE-2023-33137 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 13 Jun 2023. 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 Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-33137?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Online Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-33137?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-33137 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-33137 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-33137 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2305 Build 16.0.16501.20074) 32-bit - Remote Code Execution (RCE) (exploitdb)

## 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-2023-33137 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-33137 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 13 Jun 2023. 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: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-33137 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-2023-33137/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33137/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-33137
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-33137
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-33137

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33137/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.