CVE-2026-97771

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Use After Free in Microsoft Office Excel Allows Remote Code Execution

Publication date: 2026-10-13

Last updated on: 2026-10-15

Assigner: Microsoft Corporation

Description

Use after free in Microsoft Office Excel allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-10-13

Last Modified

2026-10-15

Generated

2026-10-19

AI Q&A

2026-10-14

EPSS Evaluated

2026-10-18

NVD

CVE-2026-97771

EUVD

EUVD-2026-99825

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
microsoft	365_apps	*
microsoft	365_apps	*
microsoft	microsoft_365	*
microsoft	office_2021	*
microsoft	office_2021	*
microsoft	office_2021	*
microsoft	office_2024	*
microsoft	office_2024	*
microsoft	office_2024	*
microsoft	office_online_server	to 16.0.10417.20228 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-416	The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a use-after-free issue in Microsoft Office Excel. It allows an unauthorized attacker to execute arbitrary code remotely over a network by exploiting a flaw where a program continues to use memory after it has been freed.

Detection Guidance

Detection of CVE-2026-97771 requires monitoring for unusual activity in Microsoft Office Excel, such as crashes or unexpected code execution. Check for updates from Microsoft to patch the vulnerability. Use network monitoring tools to detect suspicious network traffic patterns associated with Excel processes.

Impact Analysis

An attacker could exploit this to run malicious code on your system, potentially stealing data, installing malware, or taking control of your computer. It affects users of vulnerable Microsoft Office Excel versions.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability allows remote code execution via a use-after-free flaw in Microsoft Office Excel. Such attacks could lead to unauthorized data access, modification, or exfiltration, which may violate GDPR data protection requirements or HIPAA safeguards for sensitive health information.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest security updates from Microsoft for affected Office Excel versions to patch the use-after-free vulnerability.

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