Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-1583 is a Microsoft Word memory disclosure issue. A malicious document could expose memory contents after a user opens it, potentially helping an attacker compromise the user’s computer or data. It affects several Microsoft Office, Word, SharePoint, Office Online Server, and Office Web Apps versions listed by Microsoft/CVE sources.
Executive priority
Treat this as high-priority Microsoft patching, especially for users and services that open external documents. It is not KEV-listed in the provided evidence, so urgency is strong but should be balanced against broader patch cycles and exposure to untrusted files.
Technical view
Microsoft describes improper disclosure of Word memory contents. Exploitation requires a specially crafted document and user interaction, and the attacker must know where an object was created in memory. Microsoft’s fix changes how certain Word functions handle objects in memory. CVSS 3.1 is 8.8 high.
Likely exposure
Organizations are most exposed where affected Word/Office clients or Microsoft document-processing server products handle untrusted documents, email attachments, uploads, or shared files. The source list includes Office/Word 2010-2019, Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, SharePoint 2010-2019, Office Online Server, and Office Web Apps.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not support active exploitation: KEV is false and no cited source states exploitation in the wild. Exploitation is document-driven and requires persuading a user to open a crafted file, plus attacker knowledge of a relevant memory address.
Researcher notes
The affected list is broad and includes duplicate Word 2013 entries and one Office 2010 item with an Excel CPE, so validate product mapping against MSRC. No CWE is provided. Do not infer RCE mechanics beyond Microsoft’s stated memory disclosure and compromise potential.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the Microsoft security update identified in the MSRC advisory.
- Prioritize Office, Word, SharePoint, Office Online Server, and Office Web Apps assets handling external documents.
- Check Microsoft guidance for exact update packages and supported product versions.
- Retire or isolate unsupported affected versions that cannot receive vendor updates.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed affected products and compare versions against Microsoft advisory coverage.
- Confirm the relevant Microsoft update is installed on endpoints and servers.
- Review document-ingestion workflows for affected server-side Microsoft components.
- Track detections or alerts involving suspicious Office documents, without assuming CVE-specific exploitation.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2020-1583 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
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.
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1583CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
