How severe is CVE-2012-1856?

CVE-2012-1856 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2012-1856?

Affected package information for CVE-2012-1856 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2012-1856?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2012-1856 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2012-1856 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2012-1856, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation 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-2012-1856?

CVE-2012-1856 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 91.6%, 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-2012-1856 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2012-1856 (Microsoft Office MSCOMCTL.OCX Remote Code Execution Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-03-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-03-24. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2012-1856?

CVE-2012-1856 affects microsoft commerce server (3 versions, e.g. 2002, 2007, 2009); microsoft host integration server (1 version, e.g. 2004); microsoft office (3 versions, e.g. 2003, 2007, 2010); microsoft office web components (1 version, e.g. 2003), and 3 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2012-1856 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2012-1856 was published on August 15, 2012 and was last updated on April 22, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2012-1856: Commerce Server Remote Code Execution (High 8.8)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

91.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

The TabStrip ActiveX control in the Common Controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, Office 2003 Web Components SP3, Office 2007 SP2 and SP3, Office 2010 SP1, SQL Server 2000 SP4, SQL Server 2005 SP4, SQL Server 2008 SP2, SP3, R2, R2 SP1, and R2 SP2, Commerce Server 2002 SP4, Commerce Server 2007 SP2, Commerce Server 2009 Gold and R2, Host Integration Server 2004 SP1, Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1, Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP2, and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) document or (2) web page that triggers system-state corruption, aka "MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE Vulnerability."

Affected Products

7 products · 21 configurations

Application

commerce servermicrosoft

3 versions

200220072009

Application

host integration servermicrosoft

1 version

2004

Application

officemicrosoft

3 versions

200320072010

Application

office web componentsmicrosoft

1 version

2003

Application

sql servermicrosoft

3 versions

200020052008

Application

visual basicmicrosoft

1 version

6.0

Frequently Asked Questions

The TabStrip ActiveX control in the Common Controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, Office 2003 Web Components SP3, Office 2007 SP2 and SP3, Office 2010 SP1, SQL Server 2000 SP4, SQL Server 2005 SP4, SQL Server 2008 SP2, SP3, R2, R2 SP1, and R2 SP2, Commerce Server 2002 SP4, Commerce Server 2007 SP2, Commerce Server 2009 Gold and R2, Host Integration Server 2004 SP1, Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1, Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP2, and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) document or (2) web page that triggers system-state corruption, aka "MSCO

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2012-1856 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2012-1856 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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