Microsoft Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Actively exploited in the wild. Patch or mitigate immediately — don't wait for a maintenance window.
An attacker with a basic user account, with local access to the host, if a user is tricked into opening a malicious file or link, can fully compromise the system — steal data, tamper with it and take it offline.
Microsoft Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Inferred from the weakness type (CWE) and how the flaw is reached — the techniques an attacker would chain to exploit this. Real-world corroboration appears here as threat intel is folded in.
Corroborated threat activity referencing this CVE — with source and confidence, not inference.
Named threat actors and observed ATT&CK techniques appear here as intel feeds are folded in — the ATT&CK chain above stays inferred until then.
Generated by Wavense from the CVE record — an immediate mitigation and the permanent fix.
To mitigate risk before patching, organizations should disable Microsoft Publisher if not essential, or enforce strict controls on opening untrusted .pub files. Implement strong application control policies (e.g., AppLocker) to restrict execution of unknown or unauthorized applications. Enhance endpoint detection and response (EDR) monitoring for suspicious activity originating from Publisher processes.
The permanent resolution is to apply the security updates released by Microsoft. Administrators should prioritize deploying the latest cumulative security updates for Microsoft Publisher and affected Office suites via Windows Update, WSUS, or other patch management systems. Refer to the official Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) guide for specific update packages and affected versions.
An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could bypass security features intended to protect users within Microsoft Publisher. This could enable the execution of malicious code or content that would otherwise be blocked, leading to potential arbitrary code execution, information disclosure, or further system compromise. The business consequences include data theft, system control loss, and disruption of operations.
Other CVEs affecting office 2019
Microsoft Outlook Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Unspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Excel 2000, XP, 2003, and 2004 for Mac, and possibly other Office products, allows remote user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via unknown attack vectors, as demonstrated by Exploit-MSExcel.h in targeted zero-day attacks.
Reliance on untrusted inputs in a security decision in Microsoft Office Word allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.