Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-31941 is a Microsoft Office Graphics remote code execution vulnerability. The business risk is endpoint compromise when a user interacts with vulnerable Office content. Microsoft rates it high severity with complete confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact in CVSS terms. The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint patching issue, not an emergency zero-day based on the provided evidence. Prioritize users with heavy document and email exposure, then verify patch coverage across managed devices.
Technical view
The CVSS 3.1 vector is 7.8 high: AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Affected products include Office 2013 SP1, Office 2016, Office 2019, Office 2019 for Mac, Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, and Outlook 2013 SP1. Microsoft identifies official remediation as available.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints running the listed Microsoft Office or Outlook versions, especially systems where users open Office content from email, downloads, or shared files. Mac exposure is included for Office 2019 for Mac.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not provide exploit details and marks exploit maturity as unproven. KEV is false, so active exploitation should not be asserted from these sources. User interaction is required, but no privileges are required.
Researcher notes
The available bundle is sparse: it confirms affected products, CVSS, and remediation availability, but not root cause details, exploit technique, or in-the-wild activity. Avoid assuming exploitability beyond the CVSS vector and vendor/ZDI advisory context.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the Microsoft security update referenced by MSRC for CVE-2021-31941.
- Prioritize patching endpoints with affected Office or Outlook versions.
- Check Microsoft guidance for supported update channels and version-specific remediation.
- Use endpoint inventory to find Office 2013, 2016, 2019, and Microsoft 365 Apps exposure.
Validation and detection
- Compare installed Office versions against the MSRC advisory for CVE-2021-31941.
- Confirm security updates are installed on Windows and Mac Office endpoints.
- Verify vulnerability scanner detections clear after patch deployment.
- Review software inventory for unsupported or unmanaged Office installations.
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.
Execution 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-2021-31941 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
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/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:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C1.85.9Primary 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/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-31941CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-669/CVE 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.