{"id":"CVE-2023-21715","published":"2023-02-14T20:15:14Z","modified":"2026-08-19T17:18:12Z","title":"Microsoft Office Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability","vendor":"Microsoft","product":"Office","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"Microsoft Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"A security feature bypass vulnerability in Microsoft Office's Publisher component allows an attacker to circumvent protections built into the application. Exploitation requires a local attacker holding low privileges on the system, and it depends on a user interacting with the crafted content, such as opening a malicious Publisher file.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:13:38Z"},"cvss":{"score":7.3,"severity":"HIGH","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.12011,"percentile":0.9612,"date":"2026-10-29","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2023-02-14","dueDate":"2023-03-07","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-US/vulnerability/CVE-2023-21715;  https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-21715","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2023-02-14","exploitedFirstSeen":"2023-02-14","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2023-02-14"},{"url":"https://api.msrc.microsoft.com/cvrf/v3.0/cvrf/2023-Feb","date":"2023-04-14"},{"url":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/09/12/malware-distributor-storm-0324-facilitates-ransomware-access/","date":"2023-09-12"},{"url":"https://www.trellix.com/en-us/about/newsroom/stories/research/storm-0324-an-access-for-the-raas-threat-actor.html","date":"2023-10-05"},{"url":"https://ti.qianxin.com/uploads/2024/02/02/dcc93e586f9028c68e7ab34c3326ff31.pdf","date":"2024-02-02"}],"evidenceTotal":5,"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-863","name":"Incorrect Authorization"}],"references":[{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-21715","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-21715","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-21715","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1204.002","name":"Malicious File","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Security Feature Bypass","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[],"comment":"CVE-2023-21715 is a security feature bypass vulnerability exploitable when a user opens a specially-crafted file bypassing macro policies.","confidence":"high"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2023-25882","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2023-25882","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2023-02-14","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":null,"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1204.002"],"provenance":"source"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2023-02-14","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-21715","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-02-14","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-02-14","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-02-14","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2023-25882","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":null,"firstExploitFrom":null,"daysToKev":0},"priority":{"score":62.3,"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 1353 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.22,"detail":"percentile 0.9612"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 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":5.11,"detail":"base score 7.3"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}