Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Description

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Excel software when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Excel. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) containing a specially crafted file designed to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Excel handles objects in memory.

Scores

EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)

4.2% · top 9.0% of all CVEs (6 Nov 2026)

The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 8.8.

Weakness

• Remote Code Execution

Affected products

• Microsoft · Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2

  • affected 13.0.0.0 – < publication

References (1)

• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1504 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

• CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
• CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
• NVD (opens in a new tab)
• FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
• OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
• GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
• CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)

Badge for a README or a ticket

[![CVE-2020-1504](https://trackcve.app/badge/CVE-2020-1504.svg)](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2020-1504)

Record last updated 4 Aug 2024, 06:39 UTC.