What is CVE-2017-0261?

CVE-2017-0261 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Office, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2017-05-12.

How severe is CVE-2017-0261?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2017-0261 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2017-0261 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 11 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Use After Free in Microsoft Office

CVE-2017-0261

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016 allow a remote code execution vulnerability when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability". This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2017-0262 and CVE-2017-0281.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published 2017-05-12 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.781 (99.6th percentile), scored 2026-10-17.

High probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — patch promptly. 100th percentile — 99.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.781 · newest: 0.781 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Microsoft Office — versions 2010, 2013, 2016
Microsoft Corporation Office — versions Microsoft Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1, and Office 2016

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-416 — Use After Free

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2022-03-03. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-03-24.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2017-0261 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/98104 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.securitytracker.com/id/1038444 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-0261?: CVE-2017-0261 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Office, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2017-05-12.
How severe is CVE-2017-0261?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2017-0261 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2017-0261 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 11 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.