CVE-2026-97753

Summary

A heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office Excel allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code when processing specially crafted Excel files. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered over a network without user interaction, making it ideal for drive-by attacks.

Exploitability

Exploitation is moderately difficult as it requires crafting a malicious Excel file that triggers the buffer overflow, but once triggered, it provides high privileges execution with no user interaction required.

Blast radius

The vulnerability affects all major Microsoft 365 Office applications including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, potentially impacting thousands of endpoints across an organization when users open malicious files from email or web downloads.

Detection

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

Prioritized remediation

Deploy the Microsoft Security Update KB5042819 immediately to fix this vulnerability in Excel and other affected Office applications.

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