Overview
CVE-2025-47176 is a severe vulnerability that impacts Microsoft Office Outlook. It is a particularly troubling vulnerability as it allows an authorized attacker to execute arbitrary code locally on the victim’s machine. Considering the wide usage of Microsoft Office Outlook across various industries and organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. The successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to potential system compromise or data leakage, which could have devastating repercussions, particularly for sensitive and confidential data.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-47176
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Microsoft Office Outlook | [All versions prior to the vendor patch]
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability exists due to an input validation error in the Outlook’s parsing of the ‘…/…//’ string. An attacker who has sufficient privileges can exploit this vulnerability by embedding malicious code within this string. When the Outlook software parses this string, the malicious code is executed, giving the attacker the ability to run arbitrary commands on the victim’s machine. This could potentially lead to full system compromise or unauthorized data access.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. The attacker sends an email with a specially crafted string:
Subject: Important Document
From: attacker@example.com
To: victim@example.com
Content-Type: text/plain
Check this: .../...//<malicious_code>When the victim opens this email in Microsoft Office Outlook, the malicious code is executed, potentially compromising the system or leading to data leakage.
Mitigation
Users are advised to apply the vendor patch immediately to mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability. In the interim, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation measures. It is also recommended to restrict the privileges of users and applications where possible, as the exploit requires high privileges to successfully execute.