CVE-2016-3235: Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Nov 2021, 1,966 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 43.3%
EPSS score, percentile 98.7 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
Required action (CISA), due 3 May 2022: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA due date for this action: 3 May 2022.
Advisories and patches
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
Microsoft Office Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) dynamic link library (DLL) contains a side loading vulnerability due to it improperly validating input before loading libraries. Successful exploitation allows for remote code execution.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2016-3235 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 3 Nov 2021.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 3 May 2022.
- The CVE record was published on 16 Jun 2016, 1,966 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 43.3% (percentile 98.7), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
Microsoft Visio 2007 SP3, Visio 2010 SP2, Visio 2013 SP1, Visio 2016, Visio Viewer 2007 SP3, and Visio Viewer 2010 mishandle library loading, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability."
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 Jun 2016 | CVE record published |
| 3 Nov 2021 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 3 May 2022 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 21 Oct 2025 | CVE record last updated |
References
- 1036093
- securify.nl
- 20160615 Microsoft Visio multiple DLL side loading vulnerabilities
- packetstormsecurity.com
- 20160615 Microsoft Visio multiple DLL side loading vulnerabilities
More exploited Microsoft vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-96951: Microsoft Windows Command Injection Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-65660: Microsoft SharePoint Code Injection Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-81963: Microsoft Windows Link Following Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-85880: Microsoft Windows Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- CVE-2019-1068: Microsoft SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-33824: Microsoft Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Double Free Vulnerability