Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A memory-safety flaw in Microsoft Word could let an attacker run code with the victim’s privileges after user interaction. Successful exploitation could expose data, alter files, or disrupt the affected device. The supplied CVSS score is 7.8, making this a high-severity endpoint risk.
Executive priority
Schedule prompt remediation through normal high-severity patching procedures. Accelerate deployment for sensitive users and document-heavy workflows. There is no supplied evidence of active exploitation, but successful compromise could materially affect endpoint confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Technical view
CVE-2026-45486 is a use-after-free vulnerability classified as CWE-416. It requires user interaction, needs no prior privileges, and has a local attack vector. Successful exploitation can cause high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact without crossing a security boundary.
Likely exposure
Potential exposure is limited to the listed Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise and Office for Mac versions. Prioritize systems where users regularly handle externally supplied Word content. The bundle does not establish whether other versions or Office products are affected.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector indicates low attack complexity, no privileges required, and required user interaction. CISA KEV status is false in the supplied bundle, and no cited evidence establishes active exploitation. Treat exploitation status as unconfirmed rather than absent.
Researcher notes
The record identifies a Word use-after-free condition but provides no trigger details, root-cause analysis, or reliable indicators of compromise. The affected version strings should be validated against Microsoft’s advisory and enterprise inventory because the bundle supplies no build-range context.
Mitigation direction
- Review Microsoft’s CVE advisory for the applicable security update and deployment requirements.
- Update affected Microsoft 365 Apps and Office for Mac installations using approved enterprise processes.
- Prioritize endpoints handling external documents or belonging to users with access to sensitive information.
- Until updated, reinforce controls for untrusted Word content according to existing organizational policy.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Office products and versions against the four affected entries in the CVE record.
- Confirm Microsoft’s applicable security update is installed on each affected endpoint.
- Verify Office update channels are functioning and endpoints are not stalled on vulnerable builds.
- Monitor endpoint security telemetry for unusual processes or file activity associated with Word.
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.
CWE-416: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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-2026-45486 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 Word 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.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.