CVE-2026-20946: Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-01-13 · updated 2026-07-30
Weakness: CWE-125

Description

Out-of-bounds read in Microsoft Office Excel allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

Affected products

Microsoft 365 Apps: all versions
Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1: 2016
Microsoft Office: 2019
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021: 2021, 2024
Microsoft 365 Apps: from 16.0.1 before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases — fixed in https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Excel 2016: from 16.0.0.0 before 16.0.5535.1000 — fixed in 16.0.5535.1000
Microsoft Office LTSC 2021: from 16.0.1 before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases — fixed in https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2024: from 16.0.0 before 16.105.26011018 — fixed in 16.105.26011018
Microsoft Office: from 19.0.0 before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases — fixed in https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office LTSC 2024: from 16.0.0 before https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases — fixed in https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases
Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021: from 16.0.1 before 16.105.26011018 — fixed in 16.105.26011018

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Microsoft 365 Apps https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases; Microsoft Excel 2016 16.0.5535.1000; Microsoft Office LTSC 2021 https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases; Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2024 16.105.26011018; Microsoft Office https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases; Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 https://aka.ms/OfficeSecurityReleases; Microsoft Office LTSC for Mac 2021 16.105.26011018. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20946

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