VDB-340833 · CVE-2026-20948 · EUVD-2026-2132

Microsoft Word untrusted pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
6.7	$5k-$25k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Microsoft Word and classified as critical. This impacts an unknown function. Performing a manipulation results in untrusted pointer dereference. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-20948. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to install a patch to address this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Microsoft Word (the affected version unknown). This affects an unknown part. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-822. The product obtains a value from an untrusted source, converts this value to a pointer, and dereferences the resulting pointer. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Untrusted pointer dereference in Microsoft Office Word allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

The weakness was presented 01/13/2026 as confirmed security update guide (Website). The advisory is shared at msrc.microsoft.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-20948. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/24/2026).

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-2132). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Word Processing Software

Vendor

Microsoft

Name

Word

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.7

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Vendor Base Score (Microsoft): 7.8
Vendor Vector (Microsoft): 🔒

CNA Base Score: 7.8
CNA Vector (Microsoft): 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Untrusted pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-822
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Unproven

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔒
0-Day Time: 🔒
Exposure Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

01/13/2026 VulDB entry created
01/13/2026 +0 days Advisory disclosed
01/13/2026 +0 days Countermeasure disclosed
01/24/2026 +11 days VulDB entry last update