Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a Microsoft Office remote-code-execution issue affecting older Office releases. A victim must open a malicious Office document, after which attacker code can run with that user’s privileges. Because CISA lists CVE-2017-11882 in KEV, treat remaining exposure as urgent, even though the vulnerability is old.
Executive priority
Prioritize as an urgent legacy exposure cleanup. The vulnerability is known exploited, has public exploit references, and can give attackers code execution after document opening. Any remaining vulnerable Office deployment should be treated as a material endpoint risk.
Technical view
Microsoft describes a memory corruption flaw in Office 2007 SP3, 2010 SP2, 2013 SP1, and 2016. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction required, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations are exposed if affected Microsoft Office versions remain installed or users can open untrusted Office documents on systems lacking Microsoft’s CVE-2017-11882 update. Highest concern is legacy endpoints, unmanaged desktops, archived images, and environments where old Office versions persist.
Exploitation context
Active exploitation is supported by CISA KEV and Palo Alto Unit 42’s public reporting of in-the-wild exploitation. The source bundle also includes public exploit references, so defenders should assume practical exploitation knowledge is widely available.
Researcher notes
Do not broaden scope beyond the named Office versions without vendor evidence. The provided CVE data supports memory corruption, current-user code execution, UI-required exploitation, CISA KEV status, and public exploit availability, but it does not provide detailed safe detection logic or complete patch validation mechanics.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Microsoft’s security update or current vendor guidance for CVE-2017-11882.
- Remove or upgrade unsupported legacy Office installations where possible.
- Restrict handling of untrusted Office attachments from email and web sources.
- Prioritize remediation on endpoints used by high-risk users and privileged staff.
- Monitor vendor and CISA guidance for any changed remediation direction.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Office versions against the affected list in the CVE record.
- Confirm patch status for Microsoft’s CVE-2017-11882 advisory across endpoints.
- Review endpoint telemetry for suspicious Office document execution patterns.
- Check email and web controls for malicious Office document detections.
- Verify legacy images and unmanaged systems are not missed.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-119: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2017-11882 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/embedi/CVE-2017-11882CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/unamer/CVE-2017-11882CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/rxwx/CVE-2017-11882CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2017-11882CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/2017/12/unit42-analysis-of-cve-2017-11882-exploit-in-the-wild/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- VU#421280CVE reference · third-party-advisory, x_refsource_CERT-VN
- https://0patch.blogspot.com/2017/11/did-microsoft-just-manually-patch-their.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://0patch.blogspot.com/2017/11/official-patch-for-cve-2017-11882-meets.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/0x09AL/CVE-2017-11882-metasploitCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- 43163CVE reference · exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- https://web.archive.org/web/20181104111128/https://embedi.com/blog/skeleton-closet-ms-office-vulnerability-you-didnt-know-about/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-11882CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.