CVE-2020-0961 — Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Executive Summary

A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code on a victim system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by enticing a victim to open a specially crafted file. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way the Microsoft Office Access Connectivity Engine handles objects in memory.

Overview

7.8

CVSS HIGH

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Remote Code Execution

Released Apr 14 2020

Last Updated Apr 14 2020

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.11548 — 0.95476 percentile

NVD CVSS 7.8 HIGH — differs from MSRC

CVSS Vector

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

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

None

USER INTERACTION

Required

SCOPE

Unchanged

EPSS Score

0.11548

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.95476 percentile - updated 2026-06-21

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

11 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)	`4484238 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)	`4484238 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2013 RT Service Pack 1	`4484229 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)	`4484229 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)	`4484229 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2016 (32-bit edition)	`4484287 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2016 (64-bit edition)	`4484287 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	No
Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	No
Office 365 ProPlus for 32-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	No
Office 365 ProPlus for 64-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	No

Patches

4 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4484238`	Security Update	Maybe
`4484229`	Security Update	Maybe
`4484287`	Security Update	Maybe
`Click to Run`	Security Update	No

Known Exploits

No known exploits have been linked for this CVE yet. When available, exploit references will be sourced from public repositories and may be unverified, incomplete, or non-functional. Always review code carefully before use in any environment.

Acknowledgments

STAR Labs

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD