CVE DATABASE / CVE-2012-1854
CVE-2012-1854
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2026-04-13.
Federal remediation due 2026-04-27.
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Summary
Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and Summit Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications SDK allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .docx file, aka "Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in July 2012.
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
| 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 |
| Attack vector | LOCAL |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | NONE |
| User interaction | REQUIRED |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity | HIGH |
| Availability | HIGH |
Weakness type (CWE)
Affected products
Use our free CVE Lookup tool for the latest NVD record, or browse the full CISA KEV catalog.
References
- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-192A.html
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityBulletins/2012/ms12-046
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1854
Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2026-04-22. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.