CVE-2025-62202
📋 TL;DR
An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel allows an attacker to read memory contents beyond intended boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information. This affects users who open malicious Excel files locally. The vulnerability requires user interaction to open a specially crafted file.
💻 Affected Systems
- Microsoft Office Excel
📦 What is this software?
365 Apps by Microsoft
365 Apps by Microsoft
Excel by Microsoft
Excel 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 →
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could read sensitive memory contents, potentially exposing passwords, encryption keys, or other confidential data stored in memory during Excel execution.
Likely Case
Information disclosure of random memory contents, which could include fragments of sensitive data or application state information.
If Mitigated
Limited information disclosure with minimal impact if proper file validation and user awareness controls are in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires user interaction to open malicious file. Exploit would need to bypass ASLR/DEP protections.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: To be specified in Microsoft's monthly security updates
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-62202
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open any Office application. 2. Go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now. 3. Restart Office applications after update completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable automatic Excel file opening
windowsPrevent Excel from automatically opening files from untrusted sources
Set registry key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security\FileValidation = 3
Use Protected View
windowsForce all files from internet to open in Protected View
Set registry key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security\ProtectedView = 1
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to block untrusted Excel files
- Educate users to never open Excel files from untrusted sources
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Excel version against Microsoft's security bulletin for affected versionsCheck Version:
In Excel: File > Account > About ExcelVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Excel version matches or exceeds patched version in Microsoft advisory📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Excel crash logs with memory access violations
- Windows Application logs with Excel faulting module errors
Network Indicators:
- Unusual Excel file downloads from external sources
SIEM Query:
source="windows" AND (event_id=1000 OR event_id=1001) AND process_name="EXCEL.EXE" AND faulting_module LIKE "%EXCEL%"