CVE-2021-40454: Rich Text Edit Control Information Disclosure Vulnerability
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.49% (FIRST EPSS).
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
Low priority for now. Update when a fix is released; 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 · FIRST EPSS
- Published
- Oct 12, 2021
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.4% · 42th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-312
Report tools
Action score
22
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.4%
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · microsoft
- 5.5
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:F/RL:O/RC:C
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- No fixed version yet
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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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.
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 | 365 apps | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:365_apps |
| microsoft | office | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office |
| microsoft | windows 10 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10 |
| microsoft | windows 11 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11 |
| microsoft | windows 8.1 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1 |
| microsoft | windows rt 8.1 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1 |
| microsoft | windows server | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server |
| microsoft | windows server 2012 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012 |
| microsoft | windows server 2016 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016 |
| microsoft | windows server 2019 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019 |
| microsoft | windows server 2022 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022 |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- microsoft windows server2004
- microsoft windows server20h2
- microsoft windows server 2012all versions
- microsoft windows server 2012r2
- microsoft windows server 2016all versions
- microsoft windows server 2019all versions
- microsoft windows server 2022all versions
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
Microsoft Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1
- 15.0.0 and later · before 15.0.5389.1000affected
Microsoft Microsoft Office 2016
- 16.0.0 and later · before 16.0.5227.1000affected
Microsoft Microsoft Office 2019
- 19.0.0 and later · before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleasesaffected
Microsoft Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac
- 16.0.0 and later · before 16.54.21101001affected
Microsoft Microsoft Office LTSC 2021
- 16.0.1 and later · before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleasesaffected
Microsoft Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021
- 16.0.1 and later · before 16.54.21101001affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1507
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.10240.19086affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.14393.4704affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.17763.2237affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1909
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.18363.1854affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 2004
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.19041.1288affected
Same product
microsoft: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2023-23397Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV98Now
- CVE-2024-21413Microsoft Outlook Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityKEV97Now
- CVE-2026-21509Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass VulnerabilityKEV82Now
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2021-38657Sep 15, 2021 · Microsoft Office Graphics Component Information Disclosure Vulnerability24Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2021-38659Sep 15, 2021 · Microsoft Office Graphics Remote Code Execution Vulnerability33Monitor
- Later →CVE-2021-40471Oct 12, 2021 · Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability32Monitor
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
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
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.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- none
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-312 · Cleartext Storage of Sensitive InformationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.