How severe is CVE-2012-0158?

CVE-2012-0158 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2012-0158?

CVE-2012-0158 affects the following products: microsoft biztalk server, microsoft commerce server, microsoft commerce server 2009, microsoft office, microsoft office web components, microsoft sql server 2000, microsoft sql server 2005, microsoft sql server 2008, and 2 more.

How do I patch CVE-2012-0158?

No patch has shipped for CVE-2012-0158 yet — track the microsoft biztalk server advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2012-0158 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every microsoft biztalk server deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2012-0158 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2012-0158 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 4 known exploit references for CVE-2012-0158, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2012-0158?

CVE-2012-0158 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 100.0%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2012-0158 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2012-0158 (Microsoft MSCOMCTL.OCX Remote Code Execution Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-05-03. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. This CVE has been used in known ransomware campaigns. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2012-0158?

CVE-2012-0158 is classified as Code Injection (CWE-94). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2012-0158?

CVE-2012-0158 affects microsoft biztalk server (1 version, e.g. 2002); microsoft commerce server (2 versions, e.g. 2002, 2007); microsoft commerce server 2009 (1 version, e.g. r2); microsoft office (3 versions, e.g. 2003, 2007, 2010), and 6 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2012-0158 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2012-0158 was published on April 10, 2012 and was last updated on June 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2012-0158 — Biztalk Server

HIGH

CVE-2012-0158 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Code Injection vulnerability in microsoft biztalk server. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) and has been used in ransomware campaigns — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

The (1) ListView, (2) ListView2, (3) TreeView, and (4) TreeView2 ActiveX controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in the Common Controls in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold…

Published

Apr 10, 2012

Updated

Jun 16, 2026

Affected

10 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

4 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 21, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 — including use in ransomware campaigns. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2012-0158.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

100.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2012-0158 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,415 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

The (1) ListView, (2) ListView2, (3) TreeView, and (4) TreeView2 ActiveX controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in the Common Controls in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Office 2003 Web Components SP3; SQL Server 2000 SP4, 2005 SP4, and 2008 SP2, SP3, and R2; BizTalk Server 2002 SP1; Commerce Server 2002 SP4, 2007 SP2, and 2009 Gold and R2; Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1 and 9.0 SP2; and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (a) web site, (b) Office document, or (c) .rtf file that triggers "system state" corruption, as exploited in the wild in April 2012, aka "MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE Vulnerability."

Affected Products

10 products · 20 configurations

Application

biztalk servermicrosoft

1 version

2002

Application

commerce servermicrosoft

2 versions

20022007

Application

commerce server 2009microsoft

1 version

Application

officemicrosoft

3 versions

200320072010

Application

office web componentsmicrosoft

1 version

2003

Application

sql server 2000microsoft

all

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-18780remotewindows✓ Verified

Microsoft Windows - MSCOMCTL ActiveX Buffer Overflow (MS12-027) (Metasploit)

by Metasploit · Apr 25, 2012

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

Detect
Inventory every microsoft biztalk server deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.
Remediation status
No patch has shipped for CVE-2012-0158 yet — track the microsoft biztalk server advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Runtime Protection

Is CVE-2012-0158 being exploited in your environment?

Detect and block the exploit chain at execution, on systems you cannot patch yet.

Protect my workloads How runtime protection works

CVE-2012-0158 — Biztalk Server

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Description

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Remediation status

Mitigate without a patch

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2012-0158 being exploited in your environment?