How severe is CVE-2017-0261?

CVE-2017-0261 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2017-0261?

Affected package information for CVE-2017-0261 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2017-0261?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2017-0261 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-2017-0261 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 5 known exploit references for CVE-2017-0261, including 4 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-2017-0261?

CVE-2017-0261 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 92.3%, 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-2017-0261 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2017-0261 (Microsoft Office Use-After-Free 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.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2017-0261?

CVE-2017-0261 is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2017-0261?

CVE-2017-0261 affects microsoft office (3 versions, e.g. 2010, 2013, 2016). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2017-0261 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2017-0261 was published on May 12, 2017 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.

CISA KEV·Added 2022-03-03 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-03-24

CVE-2017-0261

HIGH

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remote code execution vulnerability when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Office Remote…

Published

May 12, 2017

Updated

Apr 22, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

5 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

92.3%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

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remote code execution vulnerability when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability". This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2017-0262 and CVE-2017-0281.

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

officemicrosoft

3 versions

201020132016

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.

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remo…

portal.msrc.microsoft.comMSMay 2017

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remo…

portal.msrc.microsoft.comGoogle-sheetMay 2017

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remo…

github.comGithubMar 2019

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remo…

cisa.govCISAMar 2022

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2017-0261 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2017-0261 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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