Security Feature Bypass in Microsoft Excel (CVE‑2016‑7262) Enables Arbitrary Command Execution
What It Is – A Microsoft Office security‑feature bypass flaw in Excel that allows crafted input to evade built‑in protections and run arbitrary commands on the host system.
Exploitability – Publicly disclosed and listed in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog; proof‑of‑concept code exists. CVSS v3.1 base score 7.8 (High).
Affected Products – Microsoft Excel across all supported Office versions (Windows) that were in service at the time of disclosure.
Why It Matters for Trust & Control Assurance
- Control Objective: Maintain a secure configuration and timely patching of all software assets.
- Satisfying this objective provides evidence for multiple frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF Identify/Protect, ISO 27001 A.12.6) and demonstrates a defensible audit trail of risk mitigation.
- Continuous mapping of patch status to this control shows due‑diligence to customers and regulators, reinforcing trust in the organization’s security posture.
Recommended Actions
- Inventory every endpoint that runs Microsoft Excel.
- Deploy Microsoft’s security update for CVE‑2016‑7262 (MS16‑XXX) without delay.
- Verify remediation with a vulnerability scanner and capture patch‑status evidence.
- Map the remediation to your secure‑configuration control objective and store the evidence in your control‑evidence repository.
Source: CISA KEV – CVE‑2016‑7262