CVE-2026-97017

Summary

A use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code when a malicious file is opened. This flaw occurs when the application frees memory that is still being referenced, potentially leading to remote code execution with high impact.

Exploitability

Exploitation requires a user to open a specially crafted Excel file, making it moderately difficult but achievable through social engineering or phishing campaigns.

Blast radius

If exploited, this vulnerability could allow attackers to execute code on affected systems with the privileges of the logged-in user, potentially leading to full system compromise across Microsoft 365 apps and Office versions.

Detection

No reliable host or network indicator is derivable from the published description.

Prioritized remediation

Deploy the Microsoft security update KB5042187 for Excel 2021 and Office 2024, or upgrade to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise version 2405 or later.

Analysis generated locally by garnet-coder (no data left the box). AI-assisted — verify against primary sources before acting.