📄 Description (English)
Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability — A security feature bypass vulnerability exists when Microsoft Office improperly handles input. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute arbitrary commands.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2016-7262 is a critical security feature bypass vulnerability in Microsoft Office that allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands by exploiting improper input handling. With a CVSS score of 9.0 and known exploits available in the wild, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to organizations relying on Microsoft Office. The vulnerability bypasses built-in security features, making it particularly dangerous as it undermines defense-in-depth mechanisms. Immediate patching is essential as exploit code is publicly available.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 6, 2026 14:40
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability has widespread impact across all Saudi sectors due to the ubiquitous use of Microsoft Office. Banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions) faces high risk as Office documents are extensively used in financial operations and communications. Government entities under NCA oversight are particularly vulnerable given the heavy reliance on Office suites for official documentation. Energy sector organizations including ARAMCO and its supply chain, telecom operators like STC, and healthcare institutions are all at significant risk. The availability of public exploits combined with the prevalence of spear-phishing campaigns targeting Saudi organizations makes this vulnerability especially dangerous in the Kingdom's threat landscape.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking
Government
Energy
Telecom
Healthcare
Education
Defense
Retail
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Apply Microsoft security update MS16-148 immediately across all systems running Microsoft Office
2. Verify patch deployment through vulnerability scanning tools
Compensating Controls:
1. Enable Protected View for all Office documents received from external sources
2. Block Office macro execution via Group Policy (set to 'Disable all macros without notification' for untrusted sources)
3. Implement email attachment sandboxing to detect malicious Office documents
4. Deploy application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized command execution
5. Enable Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules in Windows Defender
Detection Rules:
1. Monitor for suspicious child processes spawned by Office applications (e.g., cmd.exe, powershell.exe, wscript.exe)
2. Implement YARA rules for known exploit payloads targeting CVE-2016-7262
3. Enable enhanced logging for Office application events
4. Monitor for unusual Office document access patterns and macro execution attempts
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تطبيق تحديث الأمان MS16-148 من Microsoft فوراً على جميع الأنظمة التي تعمل بـ Microsoft Office
2. التحقق من نشر التصحيح من خلال أدوات فحص الثغرات
الضوابط التعويضية:
1. تفعيل العرض المحمي لجميع مستندات Office المستلمة من مصادر خارجية
2. حظر تنفيذ وحدات الماكرو في Office عبر سياسة المجموعة (تعيين 'تعطيل جميع وحدات الماكرو بدون إشعار' للمصادر غير الموثوقة)
3. تنفيذ بيئة اختبار معزولة لمرفقات البريد الإلكتروني للكشف عن مستندات Office الضارة
4. نشر القوائم البيضاء للتطبيقات لمنع تنفيذ الأوامر غير المصرح بها
5. تفعيل قواعد تقليل سطح الهجوم في Windows Defender
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة العمليات الفرعية المشبوهة التي تنشئها تطبيقات Office مثل cmd.exe و powershell.exe و wscript.exe
2. تنفيذ قواعد YARA لحمولات الاستغلال المعروفة التي تستهدف CVE-2016-7262
3. تفعيل التسجيل المحسن لأحداث تطبيقات Office
4. مراقبة أنماط الوصول غير العادية لمستندات Office ومحاولات تنفيذ الماكرو
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
2-3-1 (Patch Management)
2-5-1 (Malware Protection)
2-6-1 (Email Security)
2-2-1 (Asset Management)
2-9-1 (Vulnerability Management)
🔵 SAMA CSF
3.3.3 (Patch Management)
3.3.5 (Malware Protection)
3.3.7 (Email and Messaging Security)
3.4.1 (Vulnerability Management)
3.3.4 (Endpoint Security)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.8.8 (Management of technical vulnerabilities)
A.8.7 (Protection against malware)
A.8.23 (Web filtering)
A.8.28 (Secure coding)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
6.3.3 (Install critical security patches within one month)
5.2 (Deploy anti-malware mechanisms)
11.3 (Perform penetration testing)
6.1 (Identify and classify vulnerabilities)
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Microsoft:Excel