CVE-2012-1854: Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual…
Noroxi assessment
Priority: This week (action score 67/100)
- CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Apr 13, 2026). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 27, 2026.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 20.8% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 97.5% of all records.
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
Don’t wait for the next maintenance window. Until a fix is released, restrict access to the affected component and follow the vendor's advisory.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS
Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and Summit Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications SDK allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .docx file, aka "Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in July 2012.
- Published
- Jul 10, 2012
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 20.8% · 97th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-426
Report tools
Action score
67
Don’t wait for the next maintenance window.
- CVSS
- 31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 6 / 30 · 20.8%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
Actively exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Apr 13, 2026. That signals real attacks, not theory.
Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 27, 2026.
Get told when this record changes
- In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
- Weaponized exploit exists
- No fixed version yet
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
Is your version affected? Check itNoroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| microsoft | office | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office |
| microsoft | visual basic for applications | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_basic_for_applications |
| microsoft | visual basic for applications sdk | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_basic_for_applications_sdk |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- microsoft office2003
- microsoft office2007
- microsoft office2010
- microsoft visual basic for applicationsall versions
- microsoft visual basic for applications sdkall versions
Same product
microsoft: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2012-0158The (1) ListView, (2) ListView2, (3) TreeView, and (4) TreeView2 ActiveX controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in the Common Controls in Microsoft…KEV95Now
- CVE-2018-0798Equation Editor in Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Office 2013, and Microsoft Office 2016 allows a remote code…KEV94Now
- CVE-2017-11882Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1, and Microsoft Office 2016…KEV91Now
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2012-0167May 8, 2012 · Heap-based buffer overflow in the Office GDI+ library in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2 and SP3 allows remote attackers to execute…46Plan
- ← EarlierCVE-2012-0183May 8, 2012 · Microsoft Word 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2 and SP3, Office 2008 and 2011 for Mac, and Office Compatibility Pack SP2 and SP3 allow remote…44Plan
- Later →CVE-2012-1894Jul 10, 2012 · Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 uses world-writable permissions for the "Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/" directory and certain other…27Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Published
- CISA KEV+5024 d
- TodayNov 15, 2026+5241 d
Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-426 · Untrusted Search PathCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Change log (0)
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Show all references (4 more)Show less
- docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046
- oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityBulletins/2012/ms12-046
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1854
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.