CVE-2023-21716 — Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Executive Summary

None

Overview

9.8

CVSS CRITICAL

Critical

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Remote Code Execution

Released Feb 14 2023

Last Updated Feb 14 2023

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.82302 — 0.99618 percentile

NVD CVSS 9.8 CRITICAL — matches MSRC

CVSS Vector

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

ATTACK VECTOR

Network

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

None

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

CONFIDENTIALITY

High

INTEGRITY

High

AVAILABILITY

High

EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY

Unproven

REMEDIATION LEVEL

Official Fix

REPORT CONFIDENCE

Confirmed

Temporal Score: 8.5

EPSS Score

0.82302

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.99618 percentile - updated 2026-06-21

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

17 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 32-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	No
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 64-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	No
Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	No
Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	No
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac	`Release Notes (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 for 32-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	No
Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 for 64-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	No
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021	`Release Notes (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office Online Server	`5002309 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Office Web Apps Server 2013 Service Pack 1	`5002313 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2013 Service Pack 1 5002346 (Cumulative Update) 5002347 (Security Update) 5002312 (Security Update) Critical Remote Code Execution 5002336 5002235 Base: 9.8 Temporal: 8.5 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C 15.0.5529.1000 Maybe None Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016	`5002325 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2013 Service Pack 1 5002347 (Security Update) 5002312 (Security Update) Critical Remote Code Execution 5002336 5002235 Base: 9.8 Temporal: 8.5 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C 15.0.5529.1000 Maybe None Microsoft SharePoint Server 2019 5002342 (Security Update) 5002330 (Security Update) Critical Remote Code Execution 5002329 5002295 Base: 9.8 Temporal: 8.5 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C 16.0.10395.20001 Maybe None Microsoft SharePoint Server Subscription Edition 5002353 (Security Update) 5002352 (Security Update) Critical Remote Code Execution 5002331 5002291 Base: 9.8 Temporal: 8.5 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C 16.0.15601.20478 Maybe None Microsoft Word 2013 RT Service Pack 1	`5002316 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)	`5002316 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)	`5002316 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2016 (32-bit edition)	`5002323 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
Microsoft Word 2016 (64-bit edition)	`5002323 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe
SharePoint Server Subscription Edition Language Pack	`5002352 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Maybe

Patches

8 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`Click to Run`	Security Update	No
`Release Notes`	Security Update	Maybe
`5002309`	Security Update	Maybe
`5002313`	Security Update	Maybe
`5002325`	Security Update	Maybe
`5002316`	Security Update	Maybe
`5002323`	Security Update	Maybe
`5002352`	Security Update	Maybe

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

Joshua J. Drake

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD