CVE-2024-30101 in Office
Summary
by MITRE • 06/11/2024
Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2026
Microsoft Office remote code execution vulnerabilities represent critical security flaws that allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems through malicious Office documents. These vulnerabilities typically arise from insufficient input validation and memory corruption issues within Office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. The technical exploitation often involves crafting specially malformed Office files that trigger buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory corruption scenarios when the vulnerable application processes the malicious content. Such vulnerabilities enable threat actors to gain unauthorized access to systems, escalate privileges, and potentially establish persistent backdoors for further malicious activities.
The operational impact of these vulnerabilities extends far beyond individual system compromise, as they can facilitate large-scale attacks targeting enterprise networks through spear-phishing campaigns and social engineering tactics. Attackers commonly deliver malicious Office documents via email attachments or malicious websites, leveraging the trust users place in Microsoft Office applications to bypass security controls. The exploitation typically requires minimal user interaction, often limited to opening the malicious document, making these vulnerabilities particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users frequently open documents from external sources. Organizations face significant risks including data breaches, system compromise, and potential lateral movement within their networks, as these vulnerabilities can serve as initial access vectors for more sophisticated attacks.
From a cybersecurity perspective, these vulnerabilities align with multiple CWE entries including CWE-121, CWE-122, and CWE-125 related to buffer overflows and memory corruption issues. The attack patterns associated with these vulnerabilities map directly to ATT&CK techniques such as T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1078 for valid accounts, as attackers often leverage compromised Office applications to execute malicious code and maintain persistence. Microsoft typically addresses these vulnerabilities through security updates and patches released via Windows Update, but organizations must implement comprehensive security measures including email filtering, application whitelisting, and user education to reduce the attack surface. The remediation process requires careful planning and testing to ensure patches do not disrupt critical business operations while maintaining adequate protection against exploitation attempts. Security teams should monitor vulnerability databases and implement proactive threat hunting activities to identify potential exploitation attempts and strengthen overall security posture against these persistent threats.