IRONSMITHINTEL
HIGHCVSS7.3
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2023-21715|Auth: low — authenticated user|Reboot: required|Manual only

Microsoft Office Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Microsoft Office Publisher contains a security feature bypass vulnerability that allows for a local, authenticated attack on a targeted system.

Published Feb 14, 2023 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A local attacker, with a low-privilege account, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2023-03-07 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Microsoft Office. Microsoft Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Exploitation requires local access, low attack complexity, a low-privilege authenticated account, and user interaction required.

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

●IT Security
●Running 365 apps: -
Fixed inhttps://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-02-14 based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Federal agencies required to remediate by 2023-03-07.

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Microsoft Security Update

This vulnerability is fixed by Microsoft's official security update.

Affected Products

    1
    Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 32-bit Systems
    1
    Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 64-bit Systems

Installation Methods

Windows Update (recommended)

1
Open Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates
2
The security update will be offered if applicable to your system
3
Restart when prompted

Verification

Confirm the update is installed:

Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 10

References

    1
    Microsoft Security Response Center: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-US/vulnerability/CVE-2023-21715
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-21715
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-21715

Discovery Credit

Hidetake Jo, Rick Cole, Charlie Hurel, and Matthew Mesa, Haifei Li with <a href="https://expmon.com/">EXPMON</a>

PowerShell automationComing soon

No tested PowerShell script for this entry yet. We’re prioritising automation based on user demand.

References

↗ CVE-2023-21715↗ MSRC Advisory↗ NVD