Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2012-1856
CVE-2012-1856
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Microsoft Office vulnerability
TabStrip ActiveX control in Microsoft Office Common Controls allows remote code execution through crafted documents or web pages via system-state corruption.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code by delivering malicious Office documents or hosting crafted web pages that exploit the TabStrip ActiveX control, leading to complete system compromise.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
8 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.72119 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Microsoft, Office. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-94 Code Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious Office document or web page containing specially formed TabStrip ActiveX control parameters.
Business
End users face risk of infection when opening untrusted documents or visiting compromised websites.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I deliver the malicious content via email, file sharing, or web hosting to target users.
Business
Attack surface expands across email and web channels, increasing organizational exposure.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I trigger system-state corruption in the ActiveX control when the document is opened or page is rendered.
Business
Vulnerable systems execute my arbitrary code with user privileges.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I gain code execution and establish persistence or exfiltrate sensitive data.
Business
Confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems are compromised.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05