CVE-2016-3235 Microsoft Office: privilege escalation
In plain words: Something running with limited rights can promote itself to full control. Turns a small foothold (like a malicious app) into administrator or system-level access.
Confirmed exploited by CISA on · US federal patch deadline May 3, 2022
What to do
- Install Microsoft's security update for Office. If no update exists, follow the vendor's workaround or stop using the product until one ships.
- Turn on automatic updates for the operating system and for Office, PDF and archive apps.
- Be careful with unexpected attachments — documents, .zip/.rar files and shortcuts are common bait.
- Use a normal (non-admin) account day to day and keep built-in protection like Microsoft Defender on.
Who is affected
Could reach you. This one is aimed at devices or apps of the kind people own.
What's at risk: Your files, saved passwords and accounts. Many of these let a program that is already running gain full administrator control.
The details
- Official name
- Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability
- Product
- Microsoft Office
- CISA description
- Microsoft Office Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) dynamic link library (DLL) contains a side loading vulnerability due to it improperly validating input before loading libraries. Successful exploitation allows for remote code execution.
- Type of flaw
- Privilege escalation (CWE-264)
- Confirmed exploited
- Nov 3, 2021
- US federal patch deadline
- May 3, 2022
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Answering about CVE-2016-3235 ·
Questions about CVE-2016-3235
Is CVE-2016-3235 being exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2016-3235 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Nov 3, 2021, which means there is reliable evidence of real-world attacks.
How do I fix CVE-2016-3235?
Install Microsoft's security update for Office. If no update exists, follow the vendor's workaround or stop using the product until one ships. Turn on automatic updates for the operating system and for Office, PDF and archive apps.
Am I affected by CVE-2016-3235?
Only if you use Microsoft Office. This one is aimed at devices or apps of the kind people own.