CVE-2026-97744 in Office PowerPoint
Summary
by MITRE • 10/15/2026
Out-of-bounds read in Microsoft Office PowerPoint allows an unauthorized attacker to disclose information locally.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2026
The vulnerability identified as an out-of-bounds read within Microsoft Office PowerPoint represents a critical memory safety flaw that compromises the confidentiality of data on affected systems. This specific type of error occurs when software attempts to access memory locations outside the boundaries of allocated buffers, typically reading past the end of a valid array or string structure. In the context of PowerPoint, this issue arises during the processing of specially crafted presentation files containing malformed objects or metadata structures. When an attacker constructs a malicious document with precisely engineered data fields that exceed expected limits, the application fails to perform adequate bounds checking before attempting to read from these invalid memory addresses. This lack of validation allows the program to retrieve sensitive information stored in adjacent memory regions that were not intended for public access by the current execution context.
From a technical perspective, this flaw is classified under CWE-125, which denotes Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities. The exploitation mechanism relies on the application's failure to verify array indices or buffer lengths against their actual allocated sizes before performing read operations. When PowerPoint parses complex slide elements, such as embedded objects, animations, or custom XML parts, it may allocate memory buffers based on initial size estimates provided in the file header. If a subsequent operation attempts to access data beyond this estimated boundary due to manipulated input values, the application reads arbitrary memory contents. These contents can include stack variables, heap metadata, or other process-specific information that reveals internal states of the operating system or user credentials stored in nearby memory spaces. The attacker does not need direct execution privileges on the target machine but must trick a victim into opening the malicious file using Microsoft Office PowerPoint.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily centered around local information disclosure rather than remote code execution, although such disclosures can serve as stepping stones for more severe attacks. An unauthorized attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can extract sensitive data from the memory space of the PowerPoint process. This might include partial contents of other open documents, cached authentication tokens, or cryptographic keys used by the application. While the immediate effect is limited to reading non-sensitive or partially sensitive information locally, the exposure of internal program states can facilitate further exploitation attempts. For instance, knowledge gained from such leaks could aid in bypassing memory protection mechanisms like Data Execution Prevention (DEP) or Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), thereby increasing the likelihood of achieving arbitrary code execution through subsequent vulnerabilities.
In terms of threat modeling and industry standards, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1005, which refers to Data from Local System Direct Access. The attacker leverages local access privileges to read system resources without necessarily modifying them, adhering to the principle of least privilege violation by accessing data outside their designated scope. Defense-in-depth strategies are essential for mitigating such risks since memory corruption vulnerabilities often stem from low-level programming errors that are difficult to patch retroactively in complex legacy codebases like Microsoft Office. Organizations should prioritize deploying security updates released by Microsoft as soon as they become available, ensuring that the latest bounds-checking logic and input validation routines are applied to PowerPoint binaries. Additionally, implementing application control policies can restrict the execution of untrusted scripts or macros within office applications, reducing the attack surface for initial exploitation vectors involving malicious documents.
To further enhance security posture against such memory safety issues, administrators should enforce strict file type restrictions where possible, preventing users from opening files with unexpected extensions or those originating from untrusted sources. User awareness training remains critical in educating employees about the risks of interacting with unsolicited attachments and links that may trigger automatic parsing routines within office suites. Furthermore, enabling advanced protection features such as Protected View for documents downloaded from the internet can isolate potentially malicious content in a sandboxed environment, preventing direct interaction between the exploit code and the main application memory space. Regular vulnerability scanning and patch management cycles are indispensable for maintaining resilience against known flaws like this out-of-bounds read condition, ensuring that critical infrastructure remains secure against local information disclosure threats.