CVE-2024-26204 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in Microsoft Outlook for Android version 1.0. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-77, which pertains to improper neutralization of special elements used in a command, commonly known as command injection. This flaw allows an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary commands within the context of the vulnerable application without requiring any privileges or user interaction. Specifically, the vulnerability leads to an information disclosure issue, meaning sensitive data accessible to the Outlook app could be exposed to an attacker. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 reflects a high severity level, with an attack vector classified as network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction needed (UI:N). The scope remains unchanged (S:U), and the impact is primarily on confidentiality (C:H), with no impact on integrity (I:N) or availability (A:N). The vulnerability was published on March 12, 2024, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild to date. The lack of available patches at the time of this report suggests that organizations using the affected version should prioritize mitigation efforts. The vulnerability arises from improper sanitization or neutralization of special characters or commands within the Outlook for Android app, which could be exploited remotely by sending specially crafted data or emails that trigger the command injection, leading to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored or processed by the app.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-26204 could be significant, especially for entities relying heavily on Microsoft Outlook for Android as a primary communication tool. The information disclosure could lead to leakage of sensitive corporate emails, contact information, or calendar data, potentially exposing confidential business information or personally identifiable information (PII) of employees and clients. This could result in reputational damage, regulatory penalties under GDPR, and increased risk of targeted phishing or social engineering attacks leveraging the disclosed information. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, direct disruption of services or data manipulation is unlikely; however, the confidentiality breach alone can have cascading effects on organizational security posture. The ease of exploitation without user interaction or privileges increases the risk of automated or large-scale attacks, particularly in environments where Android devices are widely used for accessing corporate email. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure, where sensitive communications are routine, may face heightened risks.

Given the absence of an official patch at the time of this report, European organizations should implement immediate compensating controls. These include restricting the use of Microsoft Outlook for Android version 1.0 on corporate devices, especially those handling sensitive information. Organizations should enforce mobile device management (MDM) policies to control app versions and restrict installation of unapproved or outdated applications. Network-level protections such as email filtering and sandboxing should be enhanced to detect and block suspicious or malformed emails that could exploit this vulnerability. Additionally, organizations should monitor network traffic and device logs for unusual command execution patterns or data exfiltration attempts originating from mobile devices. User awareness campaigns should emphasize caution with unexpected or suspicious emails, even though user interaction is not required for exploitation, as layered defense reduces overall risk. Finally, organizations should maintain close communication with Microsoft for updates on patches or mitigations and plan prompt deployment once available.