CVE-2006-6456

CVE-2006-6456 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Office with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 31% places it in the 98th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation.

Key facts

• Severity: Critical (CVSS 2.0 base score 9.3)
• EPSS exploit prediction: 31% (98th percentile)
• Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
• Affected product: Microsoft Office
• Published: 2006-12-11
• Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

Unspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2000, 2002, and 2003 and Word Viewer 2003 allows remote attackers to execute code via unspecified vectors related to malformed data structures that trigger memory corruption, a different vulnerability than CVE-2006-5994.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2006-6456?

Unspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2000, 2002, and 2003 and Word Viewer 2003 allows remote attackers to execute code via unspecified vectors related to malformed data structures that trigger memory corruption, a different vulnerability than CVE-2006-5994.

How severe is CVE-2006-6456?

CVE-2006-6456 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3, rated critical severity.

Is CVE-2006-6456 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 31% (98th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2006-6456?

CVE-2006-6456 primarily affects Microsoft Office. In total, 11 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2006-6456?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2006-6456 published?

CVE-2006-6456 was published on 2006-12-11 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

• http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2006-12/0199.html
• http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2006-12/0215.html
• http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2006/12/10/new-report-of-a-word-zero-day.aspx
• http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1925
• http://secunia.com/advisories/23205
• http://securitytracker.com/id?1017358
• http://securitytracker.com/id?1017579
• http://vil.mcafeesecurity.com/vil/content/v_141056.htm
• http://vil.mcafeesecurity.com/vil/content/v_vul27249.htm
• http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/166700
• http://www.osvdb.org/30825
• http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/454069/100/0/threaded
• http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/454072/100/0/threaded
• http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/454093/100/0/threaded
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/21518
• http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA07-044A.html
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2006/4920
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2007/0435
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2007/ms07-014
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/30806
• https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A746

Affected products (11)

• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2000:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2003:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2004:*:mac:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:xp:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2000:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2002:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word:2003:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:word_viewer:2003:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:works:2004:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:works:2005:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:works:2006:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office

• CVE-2007-0065 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflow in Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Automation in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2,…
• CVE-2003-0347 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflow in VBE.DLL and VBE6.DLL of Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) SDK 5.0 through 6.3…
• CVE-2000-0854 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): When a Microsoft Office 2000 document is launched, the directory of that document is first used to locate DLL's such as…
• CVE-2025-53766 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows GDI+ allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.
• CVE-2023-23397 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
• CVE-2023-21716 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

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