Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a high-severity remote code execution issue in Microsoft Office Graphics. The provided data specifically identifies Microsoft Excel 2013 SP1 as affected. It requires user interaction, so the main business risk is employees opening unsafe Office content that could let an attacker run code with serious confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority workstation remediation item if Excel 2013 SP1 remains in use. It is not documented here as actively exploited, but the impact is full system compromise after required user interaction.
Technical view
CVE-2021-38660 has CVSS 3.1 score 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and user interaction required. The listed affected product is Microsoft Excel 2013 SP1. Successful exploitation is rated high impact for confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The source bundle does not provide CWE detail.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints running the listed affected Microsoft Excel 2013 SP1 version, especially where users open externally supplied Office content. The bundle does not identify other affected products beyond Excel 2013 SP1.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cite active exploitation. User interaction is required, so practical risk depends on whether users can open attacker-supplied or untrusted Office content on vulnerable systems.
Researcher notes
The provided record is sparse: no CWE, no exploit evidence, and only Excel 2013 SP1 is listed in the affected data. Validation should stay tied to MSRC guidance and local Office inventory rather than assuming broader product exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Review the Microsoft MSRC advisory for CVE-2021-38660 and apply the listed security updates.
- Identify and upgrade or patch Microsoft Excel 2013 SP1 installations.
- Restrict opening Office files from untrusted sources where patching is delayed.
- Prioritize endpoint protection and least-privilege controls on affected workstations.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for Microsoft Excel 2013 SP1 installations.
- Confirm installed Office update levels against the MSRC advisory for CVE-2021-38660.
- Verify vulnerability management tools detect CVE-2021-38660 on affected hosts.
- Check that high-risk users cannot open untrusted Office content without protective controls.
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-2021-38660 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-2021-38660CVE 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.