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NVD / CVE Program· CNA microsoft

CVE-2023-21715: Microsoft Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

HighCVSS 7.3 · v3.1KEVWeaponized No fix recorded

Noroxi assessment

Priority: This week (action score 63/100)

  • CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Feb 14, 2023). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Mar 7, 2023.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 12% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 96.1% of all records.
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. 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

Published
Feb 14, 2023
Updated
Aug 19, 2026
EPSS
12.0% · 96th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

63

This week

Don’t wait for the next maintenance window.

CVSS
29 / 40 · 7.3 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
4 / 30 · 12.0%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
7.3
CNA · microsoft
7.3
agree

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Feb 14, 2023. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Mar 7, 2023.

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.

Follow CVE-2023-21715

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi 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.

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Affected 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.

VendorProduct
microsoft365 apps

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (microsoft). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Microsoft Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise

    • 16.0.1 and later · before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleasesaffected

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • microsoft 365 appsall versions

Same product

microsoft: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2023-23397Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV
    98Now
  • CVE-2024-21413Microsoft Outlook Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityKEV
    97Now
  • CVE-2026-21509Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass VulnerabilityKEV
    82Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-21741Jan 10, 2023 · Microsoft Office Visio Information Disclosure Vulnerability
    29Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-21714Feb 14, 2023 · Microsoft Office Information Disclosure Vulnerability
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-23398Mar 14, 2023 · Microsoft Excel Spoofing Vulnerability
    28Monitor

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.

  1. CISA KEV-1 d
  2. Published
  3. TodayNov 14, 2026+1368 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.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • 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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records