CVE-2025-49700
📋 TL;DR
A use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office Word allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems by tricking users into opening malicious documents. This affects users running vulnerable versions of Microsoft Word on Windows systems. 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 →
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 privileges, enabling malware installation, credential theft, and persistence establishment.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to application sandboxing, antivirus detection, or restricted user permissions preventing system-wide compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to deliver malicious document. No public exploit code available at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Microsoft Security Update Guide for specific patch versions
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-49700
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Microsoft Office application
2. Go to File > Account > Update Options
3. Select 'Update Now'
4. Restart computer after update completes
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable macros and ActiveX
windowsPrevents execution of potentially malicious content in Word documents
Set macro security to 'Disable all macros without notification' in Trust Center settings
Use Protected View
windowsOpens documents from untrusted sources in read-only mode
Ensure 'Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet' is checked in Trust Center
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict Word document execution to trusted sources only
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Office version against Microsoft Security Update Guide for CVE-2025-49700Check Version:
In Word: File > Account > About WordVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Office version matches or exceeds patched version listed in Microsoft advisory📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Word crashes with memory access violations
- Unusual child processes spawned from WINWORD.EXE
- Suspicious document opens from untrusted sources
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Word process to suspicious IPs
- DNS queries for known malicious domains from Office processes
SIEM Query:
Process Creation where ParentImage contains 'WINWORD.EXE' AND CommandLine contains suspicious patterns