CVE-2012-1854
Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and Summit Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications SDK allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .docx file, aka "Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in July 2012.
ACTIVELY EXPLOITED IN THE WILD
This vulnerability is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
4/13/2026
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-046 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1854
Vulnerability Summary
CVSS v3 Score
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score (Exploitation Probability)
This vulnerability has a 4.01% probability of being exploited in the next 30 days, ranking higher than 89% of all scored CVEs.
CWE Classification
Related Vulnerabilities
Same Weakness Type(CWE-426)
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Windows Client Server Run-time Subsystem (CSRSS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Similar SeverityHIGH
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