What it is
CVE-2021-42292 is an unauthenticated Microsoft Excel Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability.
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2021-42292
Microsoft Excel Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Microsoft / Microsoft Office 2019 · affected before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
- Severity
- CVSS 7.8 · High
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 31.9%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
Microsoft / Microsoft Office 2019 affected before https://aka.ms/officesecurityreleases.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
Microsoft Excel Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Microsoft Excel Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
Microsoft
Microsoft Office 2019
Before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac
Before 16.55.21111400
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
Before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021
Before 16.55.21111400
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft Office LTSC 2021
Before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft Excel 2016
Before 16.0.5239.1001
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft Office 2016
Before 16.0.5239.1001
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1
Before 15.0.5397.1001
Affected
Microsoft
Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1
Before 15.0.5397.1001
Affected
- Published
- 10 Nov 2021
- Exploitation Reported
- 17 Nov 2021
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
Tags
microsoft
cisa
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-42292
- portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-42292 portal.msrc.microsoft.com · CVE Record https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CV...
Exploitation evidence
Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2021-11-17 00:00 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- 0
- User-Agents
- 0
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
No scanner integrations recorded yet.
Virtual patch status
No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
7.8
High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
31.9%
All CVSS Scores
CVSS v3.1
7.8
High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2.0
6.8
Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2021-42292
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2021-42292",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 7.8,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.31949,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}Early warning alerts
Get alerts on high-impact exploitation
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.