Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2016-7262
CVE-2016-7262
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Microsoft Excel vulnerability
Microsoft Excel contains a security feature bypass vulnerability in input handling that allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
This vulnerability enables attackers to circumvent security controls in Excel and achieve code execution. Active exploitation in the wild combined with high EPSS score indicates significant risk to users opening untrusted documents.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
2 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 0.58204 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Microsoft, Excel. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-20 Improper Input Validation.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 Excel document with specially formatted input that bypasses security validation.
Business
Users cannot safely open Excel files from untrusted sources without risk of system compromise.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I deliver the document via email or file sharing, relying on normal business workflows to trigger the vulnerability.
Business
Standard document handling practices become vectors for unauthorized code execution within the organization.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
When the target opens the file, my arbitrary commands execute with the privileges of the Excel process.
Business
Attackers gain initial system access and can establish persistence, steal data, or deploy additional malware.
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