Code execution via use-after-free
Published Sep 8, 2026 · Updated Sep 9, 2026
Use-after-free in Microsoft Office Word across affected Office releases allows remote attackers to execute code after user interaction. Microsoft has not published the named code locus or the precise lifetime-management error beyond reuse of freed memory in Word. The network vector alone is insufficient: exploitation requires user interaction, and successful code executes in the Word process context.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Microsoft Office Word across affected Office releases allows remote attackers to execute code after user interaction. Microsoft has not published the named code locus or the precise lifetime-management error beyond reuse of freed memory in Word. The network vector alone is insufficient: exploitation requires user interaction, and successful code executes in the Word process context.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-78514
- Published
- Sep 8, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 9, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2024
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1204
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 8, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 9, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=-
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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