Description

Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Microsoft Office allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-11T17:19:02.627Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-11T17:19:02.627Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A command injection vulnerability classified under CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command) exists within Microsoft Office. This security flaw allows an authorized attacker to achieve local privilege escalation on affected systems.\nThe vulnerability stems from improper input validation and insufficient sanitization of special characters within the Microsoft Office application logic when processing specific inputs or internal command structures. If successfully exploited, the vulnerability grants the adversary the ability to execute arbitrary operating system commands with elevated privileges, bypassing intended security boundaries.\nExploitation requires the attacker to have local access to the target system and requisite authorization levels to interact with the vulnerable application components. The primary risk implication involves local privilege escalation, which can facilitate further system compromise, unauthorized data access, and persistence mechanism deployment within the enterprise environment.\nDefensive postures must rely on applying official vendor patches as they become available, restricting execution privileges, and monitoring local system activity for anomalous command execution spawned by Office processes.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of this vulnerability is improper neutralization of special elements used in a command, mapped to CWE-78. The vulnerable component resides within Microsoft Office, specifically in the subsystem responsible for parsing, handling, or executing internal shell commands or interacting with the underlying operating system APIs.\nWhen Microsoft Office processes maliciously crafted input or files containing unsanitized special characters, it fails to adequately strip or escape metacharacters before passing the data to a command interpreter or system shell. Consequently, an attacker can manipulate the input stream to inject arbitrary system commands.\nThe exploitation method requires an authorized attacker to execute a locally accessible attack vector. The attack flow generally proceeds as follows: First, the attacker prepares a payload containing malicious command sequences designed to exploit the lack of input sanitization within the target Microsoft Office function. Second, the attacker interacts with the vulnerable Microsoft Office component, inducing it to process the malicious input. Third, the application passes the unsanitized string to the operating system command processor. Fourth, the command processor interprets the injected special elements as executable instructions, leading to the execution of arbitrary commands in the context of the running Office process or a spawned child process.\nAuthentication and privilege requirements dictate that the attacker must already possess local access and the necessary authorization to invoke or interact with the vulnerable Microsoft Office application on the target endpoint. The network exposure is strictly local, as remote exploitation over a network interface is not indicated by the vector mechanics.\nThe payload behavior involves the unauthorized execution of system-level commands, allowing the adversary to interact with system resources, execute binaries, or manipulate files outside of the application's intended sandbox. The post-exploitation impact is characterized by local privilege escalation, potentially granting the attacker higher privileges on the host system to compromise security controls, access sensitive data, or install persistent malware."
}