CVE-2024-49059 is a high-severity elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting Microsoft Office 2019 (version 19.0.0). The underlying issue is classified under CWE-59, which involves improper link resolution before file access, commonly referred to as 'link following'. This vulnerability arises when Microsoft Office improperly handles symbolic links or shortcuts during file operations, allowing an attacker with limited privileges to manipulate the file system access paths. By exploiting this flaw, a low-privileged user or process can trick Office into accessing or modifying files outside of the intended scope, potentially leading to unauthorized file overwrites or access. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.0, reflecting a high severity due to the combined impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack vector is local (AV:L), requiring the attacker to have local access with low privileges (PR:L), and no user interaction is needed (UI:N). However, the attack complexity is high (AC:H), indicating that exploitation requires specific conditions or knowledge. The vulnerability does not appear to have known exploits in the wild as of the publication date (December 10, 2024). The lack of available patches at the time of reporting suggests that organizations must rely on mitigations until official updates are released. This vulnerability could be leveraged to escalate privileges on affected systems, enabling attackers to gain higher-level access and potentially move laterally within enterprise environments.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-49059 is significant due to the widespread use of Microsoft Office 2019 in corporate, governmental, and educational sectors. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to elevate privileges from a low-level user account to higher privileges, compromising sensitive documents and internal resources. This could lead to data breaches, unauthorized data manipulation, or disruption of business operations. Given the high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts, critical business processes relying on Office documents could be disrupted. Additionally, the vulnerability could be used as a stepping stone for more advanced attacks, including lateral movement and persistence within networks. Organizations handling sensitive personal data under GDPR must be particularly cautious, as exploitation could lead to regulatory non-compliance and financial penalties. The local attack vector limits remote exploitation, but insider threats or attackers with initial footholds could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges rapidly.

1. Implement strict access controls and least privilege principles to minimize the number of users with local access to systems running Microsoft Office 2019. 2. Monitor and restrict the creation and use of symbolic links or shortcuts in directories accessed by Office applications to prevent malicious link manipulation. 3. Employ application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect anomalous file access patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. 4. Regularly audit and review user permissions, especially for accounts with local access, to ensure no unnecessary privileges are granted. 5. Until official patches are released, consider isolating critical systems or running Office in sandboxed environments to limit the impact of potential exploitation. 6. Educate users about the risks of local privilege escalation and enforce policies to prevent execution of untrusted code or scripts that could facilitate exploitation. 7. Stay informed on Microsoft’s security advisories and apply patches promptly once available.