What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2020-17020: Microsoft Word Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

• Severity: low (CVSS 2.1 v2.0)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 1.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2020-11-11 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

Microsoft Word Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Affected products

• Microsoft 365 Apps: all versions
• Microsoft Office: 2010-sp2, 2019
• Microsoft Word for Android: 2010-sp2, 2013-sp1, 2016
• Microsoft 365 Apps: from 16.0.1 before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases — fixed in https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
• Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2: from 13.0.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
• Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1: from 15.0.1 before publication — fixed in publication
• Microsoft Word 2016: from 16.0.1 before publication — fixed in publication
• Microsoft Office: from 19.0.0 before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases — fixed in https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Microsoft 365 Apps https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases; Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 publication; Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 publication; Microsoft Word 2016 publication; Microsoft Office https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-17020
• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-17020

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