CVE-2026-97014 in Office
Summary
by MITRE • 10/15/2026
Out-of-bounds read in Microsoft Office Excel allows an unauthorized attacker to disclose information locally.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2026
The vulnerability described constitutes a critical security flaw within the Microsoft Office Excel application, specifically categorized as an out-of-bounds read error. This type of memory corruption issue arises when the software attempts to access data stored at a memory location that is outside the boundaries of the intended buffer or array structure. In the context of Excel, this typically occurs during the parsing and rendering of complex spreadsheet files containing specially crafted formulas, macros, or embedded objects. When an attacker constructs a malicious document designed to exploit this specific condition, they can trigger the application to read memory contents that were not allocated for its use. This behavior is fundamentally classified under CWE-125, which defines out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities where software reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
The operational impact of this vulnerability centers on information disclosure rather than immediate code execution or system compromise. Because the flaw allows an unauthorized attacker to access memory regions that should remain inaccessible, sensitive data residing in those memory locations can be leaked back to the user interface or logged in a way that is accessible to the malicious actor. This could potentially include cryptographic keys, authentication tokens, passwords, or other proprietary information stored within the application's process space. The attack vector requires local interaction with the vulnerable software, meaning an attacker must either trick a victim into opening a crafted file locally or exploit a scenario where such files are processed automatically by Excel without sufficient user intervention. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1005, which covers Data from Local System Retrieval, as the adversary seeks to gather information directly from the compromised host through memory manipulation rather than network-based exfiltration initially.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily rely on applying vendor-supplied security patches that correct the boundary checks within Excel's parsing engine. Organizations should ensure that all instances of Microsoft Office are updated to versions where these out-of-bounds read conditions have been remediated by validating input lengths and ensuring memory access remains strictly within allocated limits. Additionally, implementing application control policies can prevent unauthorized or untrusted scripts from running within office applications, thereby reducing the attack surface for exploits that might chain this information disclosure with other vulnerabilities to achieve higher privilege levels. Users should be trained to exercise caution when opening documents from unknown sources, particularly those containing complex formulas or embedded content, as these are common vectors for triggering such memory corruption flaws. Regular vulnerability scanning and patch management cycles remain essential defenses against exploitation of known issues like CWE-125 in enterprise environments.