CVE-2025-49698
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability is a use-after-free flaw in Microsoft Office Word that allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a victim's system by tricking them into opening a malicious document. It affects users running vulnerable versions of Microsoft Word. Successful exploitation requires user interaction.
💻 Affected Systems
- Microsoft Office Word
📦 What is this software?
365 Apps by Microsoft
365 Apps by Microsoft
Office by Microsoft
Office by Microsoft
Office Long Term Servicing Channel by Microsoft
View all CVEs affecting Office Long Term Servicing Channel →
Office Long Term Servicing Channel by Microsoft
View all CVEs affecting Office Long Term Servicing Channel →
Office Long Term Servicing Channel by Microsoft
View all CVEs affecting Office Long Term Servicing Channel →
Office Long Term Servicing Channel by Microsoft
View all CVEs affecting Office Long Term Servicing Channel →
Office Long Term Servicing Channel by Microsoft
View all CVEs affecting Office Long Term Servicing Channel →
Office Long Term Servicing Channel by Microsoft
View all CVEs affecting Office Long Term Servicing Channel →
Word by Microsoft
Word by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged-in user, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement.
Likely Case
Local code execution with user-level privileges, allowing file access, credential harvesting, and persistence mechanisms.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to application sandboxing, antivirus detection, or restricted user permissions preventing system-wide compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user to open a malicious document. No public exploit code available at advisory publication.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Microsoft Update Guide for specific patch versions
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-49698
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Microsoft Word
2. Go to File > Account > Update Options
3. Select 'Update Now'
4. Restart Word when prompted
5. Alternatively, use Windows Update for system-wide Office updates
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable macro execution
windowsPrevents malicious macros from executing in Word documents
Not applicable - configure via Word Trust Center settings
Use Protected View
windowsForce all documents from internet to open in Protected View
Not applicable - configure via Word Trust Center > Protected View
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict Word document opening to trusted sources only
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Word version against patched versions in Microsoft advisoryCheck Version:
In Word: File > Account > About WordVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Word has updated to patched version and test with known safe documents📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Word crash logs with memory access violations
- Unexpected child processes spawned from WINWORD.EXE
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Word process
SIEM Query:
Process creation where parent_process contains 'WINWORD' AND (process_name contains 'cmd' OR process_name contains 'powershell')