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Known Exploited Vulnerability
7.8
HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVE-2012-1854
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability - [Actively Exploited]
Overview
Description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and Summit Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications SDK allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .docx file, aka "Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in July 2012.

Details
INFO

Published Date :

July 10, 2012, 9:55 p.m.

Last Modified :

April 22, 2026, 4:05 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No

Source :

[email protected]
CISA Notification
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

For the benefit of the cybersecurity community and network defenders—and to help every organization better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity—CISA maintains the authoritative source of vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild.

Description :

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) contains an insecure library loading vulnerability that could allow for remote code execution.

Required Action :

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Known Ransomware Campaign Use:

Unknown

Notes :

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1854

Impact
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2012-1854 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Microsoft office
2 Microsoft visual_basic_for_applications
3 Microsoft visual_basic_for_applications_sdk
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 3
Scoring
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 2.0 MEDIUM [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Solution
This information is provided by the 3rd party feeds.
  • Microsoft has released a set of patches for Office as well as Visual Basic for Applications Runtime and SDK.
References
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2012-1854.

URL Resource
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-192A.html US Government Resource
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 Mitigation Vendor Advisory
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950 Broken Link
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-192A.html US Government Resource
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 Mitigation Vendor Advisory
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950 Broken Link
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityBulletins/2012/ms12-046 Mitigation Vendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1854 US Government Resource
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2012-1854 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2012-1854 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2012-1854 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

  • Daily CyberSecurity
CISA Adds 7 Fresh Exploits to KEV Catalog

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has expanded its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, adding seven high-risk flaws that are currently being weaponized by maliciou ... Read more

Published Date: Apr 14, 2026 (2 weeks, 4 days ago)
  • The Hacker News
CISA Adds 6 Known Exploited Flaws in Fortinet, Microsoft, and Adobe Software

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday added half a dozen security flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitatio ... Read more

Published Date: Apr 14, 2026 (2 weeks, 5 days ago)
  • TheCyberThrone
CISA Adds Seven Vulnerabilities to KEV Catalog — April 13, 2026

CISA has expanded the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog with seven new entries on April 13, 2026, based on evidence of active exploitation. The batch spans three vendors — Microsoft, Adobe, and ... Read more

Published Date: Apr 14, 2026 (2 weeks, 5 days ago)
  • The Register
Zombie Microsoft bugs rise from the dead, pave way for crims and ransomware scum

Crooks are exploiting four Microsoft vulnerabilities - one patched 14 years ago and another tied to ransomware activity - according to America's lead cyber-defense agency, which on Monday gave federal ... Read more

Published Date: Apr 13, 2026 (2 weeks, 5 days ago)

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2012-1854 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • Modified Analysis by [email protected]

    Apr. 22, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Changed CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:sp1:x86:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2007:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2007:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_basic_for_applications:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:*:x86:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_basic_for_applications_sdk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:sp1:x64:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2003:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:* OR *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2007:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2007:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_basic_for_applications:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_basic_for_applications_sdk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2003:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:sp1:*:*:*:*:x86:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:-:*:*:*:*:x64:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:-:*:*:*:*:x86:* *cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2010:sp1:*:*:*:*:x64:*
    Added Reference Type Microsoft Corporation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 Types: Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
    Added Reference Type Microsoft Corporation: https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950 Types: Broken Link
    Added Reference Type CISA-ADP: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityBulletins/2012/ms12-046 Types: Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
    Added Reference Type CISA-ADP: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1854 Types: US Government Resource
    Added Reference Type CVE: https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950 Types: Broken Link
    Added Reference Type CVE: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 Types: Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Apr. 13, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-426
    Added Reference https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityBulletins/2012/ms12-046
    Added Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1854
  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-192A.html
    Added Reference https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046
    Added Reference https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Oct. 12, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://technet.microsoft.com/security/bulletin/MS12-046 [Vendor Advisory]
    Added Reference https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Sep. 19, 2017

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://oval.mitre.org/repository/data/getDef?id=oval:org.mitre.oval:def:14950 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14950 [No Types Assigned]
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Jul. 11, 2012

    Action Type Old Value New Value
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CVSS
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 7.8
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Base CVSS Score: 6.9
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
EPSS
Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

4.27 }} -7.22%

score

0.88868

percentile