Microsoft Excel 2024 Use after free · Remote Code Execution (RCE)

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk due to the widespread use of Microsoft Office products, including Excel, across both private and public sectors. Successful exploitation could lead to full system compromise, allowing attackers to steal sensitive data, deploy ransomware, or move laterally within networks. This is particularly concerning for sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where Excel is heavily used for data analysis and reporting. The remote code execution capability without authentication or complex prerequisites increases the likelihood of targeted attacks and broad phishing campaigns leveraging malicious Excel documents. Additionally, the lack of a patch at the time of disclosure means organizations remain exposed until mitigations or updates are released. The presence of publicly available exploit code further elevates the threat, as it lowers the barrier for attackers to weaponize the vulnerability.