Is CVE-2012-1854 exploited in the wild?

Yes. CVE-2012-1854 is known to be exploited in the wild, first recorded on 13 April 2026. Treat it as urgent.

How severe is CVE-2012-1854?

Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 13 April 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

Microsoft Office 2003 SP3; Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 and SP3; Microsoft Office 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and 1 more.

Is there a fix for CVE-2012-1854?

No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

How is CVE-2012-1854 attacked?

It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

Am I affected by CVE-2012-1854?

Check whether you run Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office 2010 or one of the others listed. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2012-1854: Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications insecure library loading in VBE6.dll

CVE-2012-1854 · Severity: critical · CVSS 7.8 · Exploited in the wild · Published 2026-04-13

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is a tool used to automate tasks within Microsoft Office documents. A security flaw in how this tool loads necessary files could allow an attacker to take control of a user's computer if the user opens a document in a folder containing a malicious file. This vulnerability has been exploited in the wild and can lead to full system compromise or unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Technologies: Microsoft Office 2003. Vendors: Microsoft.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2012-1854 exploited in the wild?: Yes. CVE-2012-1854 is known to be exploited in the wild, first recorded on 13 April 2026. Treat it as urgent.
How severe is CVE-2012-1854?: Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 13 April 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: Microsoft Office 2003 SP3; Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 and SP3; Microsoft Office 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and 1 more.
Is there a fix for CVE-2012-1854?: No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
How is CVE-2012-1854 attacked?: It is attacked with local access, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2012-1854?: Check whether you run Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office 2010 or one of the others listed. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

An untrusted search path vulnerability (CWE-426) exists in VBE6.dll within Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and various Microsoft Office versions. The application fails to properly validate the path when loading external libraries, allowing it to load a malicious DLL from the current working directory instead of the intended system directory. An attacker can exploit this by placing a Trojan horse DLL in the same directory as a legitimate Office document (e.g., a .docx file) and convincing a user to open it. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-in user. This vulnerability was notably exploited in the wild starting in 2012.

Affected products

Microsoft Office 2003 SP3
Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 and SP3
Microsoft Office 2010 Gold and SP1
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
Microsoft Summit Visual Basic for Applications SDK

Timeline

2012-07: exploited: First reported exploitation in the wild.
2012-07-10: advisory: Microsoft released security bulletin MS12-046.
2026-04-13: kev added: Added to CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

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