{"id":"CVE-2012-1856","published":"2012-08-15T01:55:01Z","modified":"2026-06-16T23:40:26Z","title":"Microsoft Office MSCOMCTL.OCX Remote Code Execution Vulnerability","vendor":"Microsoft","product":"Office","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"The TabStrip ActiveX control in the Common Controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, Office 2003 Web Components SP3, Office 2007 SP2 and SP3, Office 2010 SP1, SQL Server 2000 SP4, SQL Server 2005 SP4, SQL Server 2008 SP2, SP3, R2, R2 SP1, and R2 SP2, Commerce Server 2002 SP4, Commerce Server 2007 SP2, Commerce Server 2009 Gold and R2, Host Integration Server 2004 SP1, Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1, Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP2, and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) document or (2) web page that triggers system-state corruption, aka \"MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE Vulnerability.\"","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"The TabStrip ActiveX control in the Common Controls library (MSCOMCTL.OCX) shipped with Microsoft Office, along with several other Microsoft products including SQL Server, Commerce Server, Host Integration Server, Visual FoxPro and the Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime, contains a flaw in which system-state corruption can be triggered. An attacker who supplies a crafted document or web page can use this to execute arbitrary code, and the attack requires no privileges but does require a user to open the document or visit the page.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-29T08:31:58Z"},"cvss":{"score":8.8,"severity":"HIGH","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.72032,"percentile":0.99428,"date":"2026-10-28","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-03-03","dueDate":"2022-03-24","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1856","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2013-09-25","exploitedFirstSeen":"2013-09-25","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://securelist.com/the-icefog-apt-a-tale-of-cloak-and-three-daggers/57331/","date":"2013-09-25"},{"url":"https://media.kasperskycontenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2018/03/07205555/TheNaikonAPT-MsnMM1.pdf","date":"2015-05-01"},{"url":"https://cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2015/04/29/top-30-targeted-high-risk-vulnerabilities","date":"2016-09-29"},{"url":"https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA15-119A","date":"2016-09-29"},{"url":"https://documents.trendmicro.com/assets/tech-brief-untangling-the-patchwork-cyberespionage-group.pdf","date":"2017-12-01"},{"url":"https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-inception-attackers-target-europe-year-old-office-vulnerability/","date":"2018-11-05"},{"url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3465481.3465758","date":"2021-08-17"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2022-03-03"}],"evidenceTotal":8,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-94","name":"Improper Control of Generation of Code"}],"references":[{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/54948","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-227A.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-060","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A15447","tags":["Broken Link"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/54948","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-227A.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-060","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A15447","tags":["Broken Link"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1856","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1203","name":"Exploitation for Client Execution","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve","ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1); claude-haiku-5-5: ActiveX control triggers code execution in client","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code","start":459,"end":508}],"confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1204.002","name":"Malicious File","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: user opens crafted document or web page","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"via a crafted (1) document or (2) web page","start":509,"end":551}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[{"id":"SRC-aae333eb08b39b689148","title":"It’s Parliamentary: KeyBoy and the Targeting of the Tibetan Community","publisher":"citizenlab.ca","url":"https://citizenlab.ca/research/parliament-keyboy/","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"The researchers describe the presumed existence of an exploit document ‘builder’ designed to selectively weaponize .rtf files using four older, patched, vulnerabilities: CVE-2012-0158, CVE-2012-1856, CVE-2015-1641, and CVE-2015-1770.","start":12042,"end":12275}]},{"id":"SRC-886ee8388cf5400c59a7","title":"TheNaikonAPT MsnMM1","publisher":"media.kasperskycontenthub.com","url":"https://media.kasperskycontenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2018/03/07205555/TheNaikonAPT-MsnMM1.pdf","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":".di\r\nExploit.MSWord.CVE-2012-0158.dj\r\nExploit.MSWord.CVE-2012-0158.du\r\nExploit.MSWord.CVE-2012-0158.eb\r\nExploit.Win32.CVE-2012-0158.*\r\nExploit.Win32.CVE-2012-0158.a\r\nExploit.Win32.CVE-2012-0158.aw\r\nExploit.Win32.CVE-2012-0158.j\r\nTrojan-Dropper.MSWord.Agent.*\r\nTrojan-Dropper.MSWord.Agent.hc\r\nExploit.OLE2.CVE-2012-1856.a","start":44091,"end":44411}]},{"id":"SRC-5d409288624ad2cb61d6","title":"Tech brief untangling the patchwork cyberespionage group","publisher":"documents.trendmicro.com","url":"https://documents.trendmicro.com/assets/tech-brief-untangling-the-patchwork-cyberespionage-group.pdf","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"files that trigger an exploit for CVE-2012-1856, patched via MS12-060 last August 2012.","start":12021,"end":12108}]}],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2012-1866","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2012-1866","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2022-03-03","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":null,"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1204.002"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1203"],"provenance":"source"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2012-08-15","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1856","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2013-09-25","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://securelist.com/the-icefog-apt-a-tale-of-cloak-and-three-daggers/57331/","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-03-03","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-03-03","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2012-1866","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":null,"firstExploitFrom":null,"daysToKev":3487},"priority":{"score":71.8,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 4782 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.89,"detail":"percentile 0.9943"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":7.74,"detail":"3 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":0.0,"detail":"none found"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":6.16,"detail":"base score 8.8"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]},"lineage":{"familyId":"fam-class-microsoft-office-cwe-94"}}