CVE-2012-1856

KEVMicrosoft Office MSCOMCTL.OCX Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Description

The TabStrip ActiveX control in the Common Controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in Microsoft Office allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) document or (2) web page that triggers system-state corruption.

The TabStrip ActiveX control in the Common Controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, Office 2003 Web Components SP3, Office 2007 SP2 and SP3, Office 2010 SP1, SQL Server 2000 SP4, SQL Server 2005 SP4, SQL Server 2008 SP2, SP3, R2, R2 SP1, and R2 SP2, Commerce Server 2002 SP4, Commerce Server 2007 SP2, Commerce Server 2009 Gold and R2, Host Integration Server 2004 SP1, Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1, Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP2, and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) document or (2) web page that triggers system-state corruption, aka "MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE Vulnerability."

CVSS 3.1 vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

PublishedAug 15, 2012

Last modifiedJun 16, 2026

Added to KEVMar 3, 2022

Remediation dueMar 24, 2022

References

securityfocus.com/bid/54948Broken LinkThird Party Advisory
us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-227A.htmlThird Party AdvisoryUS Government Resource
docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-060PatchVendor Advisory
oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A15447Broken Link
cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-1856US Government Resource

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Risk assessment · Critical

Actively exploited. Patch immediately.

Exploitation: Confirmed in the wild (CISA KEV)
Federal remediation deadline: Overdue by 1677 days
CVSS: 8.8 HIGH
EPSS (30-day exploit probability): 72.0% · top 1% of all CVEs
Weakness: NVD-CWE-noinfo
Attack vector: Network, remotely reachable

Recommended actions

1.Apply updates per vendor instructions.
2.Treat as emergency change: patch or isolate internet-facing instances first.
3.Review exposure: confirm which instances are reachable from the internet and restrict access until patched.
4.Hunt for compromise: review logs for the disclosure window, not just from the patch date.

Assessment is derived automatically from the live signals above; verify against your own asset inventory.