Product:
Microsoft Office Excel
Summary
Improper access control in Microsoft Office Excel allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally. This vulnerability can lead to significant impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Attackers can exploit this flaw without needing elevated privileges, making it a serious concern for users.
Details
| Severity | Base Score | CVE |
|---|---|---|
| HIGH | 7.8 | CVE-2026-20949 |
Exploitation
To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have local access to the affected system and can leverage the improper access control to bypass security features. This requires user interaction, as the attacker must convince the user to execute a malicious action that triggers the exploit. Once executed, the attacker can gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or functionalities within Excel.
Affected Products
- Microsoft Office Excel: A widely used spreadsheet application that is vulnerable due to improper access control.
Mitigation
To mitigate this vulnerability, users should ensure that they are using the latest version of Microsoft Office Excel and apply any available security updates. Additionally, users should be cautious about granting local access to their systems and be aware of potential phishing attempts that could lead to exploitation.