Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A flaw in Microsoft Visio can allow malicious content to run code after a user interacts with it. Successful exploitation could compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the user’s system. The supplied CVSS score is 7.8, making this a high-severity workstation risk rather than a network-exploitable, no-click issue.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint patching issue, especially in organizations exchanging Visio files externally. It is not described as a no-click or network-direct compromise, and active exploitation is not established. Require coverage reporting for applicable Microsoft Office and Visio estates rather than assuming ordinary update policies completed remediation.
Technical view
CVE-2024-38016 is a Visio-related remote code execution vulnerability categorized as CWE-284. Its CVSS 3.1 vector indicates local access, low attack complexity, no prior privileges, required user interaction, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The supplied sources do not describe the underlying flaw or execution context further.
Likely exposure
Potential exposure includes listed deployments of Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021, and Visio 2016. The supplied version data is limited and may not fully express affected build ranges. Prioritize endpoints where users receive or open untrusted Visio-compatible content.
Exploitation context
The supplied record does not establish active exploitation, and CVE-2024-38016 is not identified as KEV in the bundle. Exploitation requires user interaction and is rated locally accessible, so likely delivery would depend on persuading a user to interact with malicious content. No exploit procedure is provided.
Researcher notes
Public details in the supplied bundle are sparse: it provides severity, CVSS characteristics, affected product names, CWE-284, and a Microsoft patch reference, but no root-cause analysis. Exact vulnerable and fixed build boundaries should be taken from Microsoft’s advisory. Avoid inferring a specific file format, component, or exploitation primitive from the title alone.
Mitigation direction
- Review Microsoft’s advisory and apply the applicable security updates to affected Office or Visio installations.
- Prioritize systems whose users routinely receive or open Visio files from external or untrusted sources.
- Use existing email and content controls to reduce delivery of untrusted Visio-compatible files.
- Follow current Microsoft guidance for any product-specific mitigations or deployment prerequisites.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021, and Visio 2016 deployments.
- Compare installed builds and update status against Microsoft’s CVE-2024-38016 advisory.
- Confirm applicable security updates installed successfully across managed endpoints.
- Review security telemetry for suspicious activity associated with users opening unexpected Visio content.
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.
CWE-284: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
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-2024-38016 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.
SSVC decision data
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:C1.85.9microsoftVulnerability 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
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- Microsoft Office Visio Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityCVE reference, microsoft · vendor-advisory, patch
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.
Improper Access Control
Improper Access Control represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.