CVE-2022-47212 in Office
Summary
by MITRE • 12/13/2022
Microsoft Office Graphics Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2022-26804, CVE-2022-26805, CVE-2022-26806, CVE-2022-44692, CVE-2022-47211, CVE-2022-47213.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical remote code execution flaw in Microsoft Office Graphics components that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The issue stems from improper input validation within the graphics rendering engine that processes various file formats including emf, wmf, and other vector graphics. Security researchers identified that when Microsoft Office applications parse malformed graphics files, the application fails to properly validate the structure and content of these graphics elements, creating a pathway for malicious code injection. The vulnerability specifically affects the handling of graphics objects within Office documents and presentations, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns where attackers can craft malicious files that appear legitimate.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a buffer overflow condition that occurs during the parsing of graphics data structures. When Office applications encounter specially crafted graphics elements with malformed headers or oversized data fields, the application's memory management routines fail to properly handle the unexpected data patterns. This memory corruption allows attackers to overwrite critical memory locations and redirect execution flow to malicious code. The flaw exists at the graphics processing layer where the application's internal graphics engine does not perform adequate bounds checking or data sanitization before processing external graphics content. According to CWE classification, this represents a classic buffer overflow vulnerability with a weakness in input validation and memory management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution to encompass potential privilege escalation and persistent system compromise. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to systems without requiring user interaction beyond opening a malicious document, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users frequently open documents from external sources. The vulnerability affects multiple Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, creating widespread exposure across different application contexts. Once executed, the malicious payload can establish persistence mechanisms, create backdoors, or exfiltrate sensitive data from the compromised system. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 (Exploitation for Client Execution) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) as attackers can use the compromised system for further lateral movement and data theft operations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch application from Microsoft Security Response Center, which provides comprehensive fixes for all affected Office versions. Organizations should implement strict file validation policies that scan and quarantine suspicious graphics files before they reach end users. Network segmentation and email filtering solutions should be enhanced to detect and block potentially malicious Office documents containing crafted graphics elements. Security teams should also consider disabling automatic graphics rendering in Office applications where possible and implement application whitelisting controls to prevent execution of unauthorized code. Additionally, regular security awareness training should emphasize the dangers of opening documents from untrusted sources, particularly those containing embedded graphics or multimedia elements. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing layered defense strategies to protect against sophisticated attack vectors that exploit seemingly benign file processing functions.