CVE-2024-38226: Microsoft Publisher Protection Mechanism Failure Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 10 Sep 2024, the same day the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 2.7%
EPSS score, percentile 85.7 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.3 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 1 Oct 2024. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- 19.0.0
- 16.0.1
- from 16.0.0 to before 16.0.5465.1001
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 mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA due date for this action: 1 October 2024.
Advisories and patches
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38226
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38226
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 19.0.0 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 16.0.1 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | from 16.0.0 to before 16.0.5465.1001 |
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
Microsoft Publisher contains a protection mechanism failure vulnerability that allows attacker to bypass Office macro policies used to block untrusted or malicious files.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2024-38226 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 10 Sep 2024.
- 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 1 Oct 2024.
- The CVE record was published on 10 Sep 2024, the same day it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (High), given by its CNA.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.7% (percentile 85.7), 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 Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Microsoft Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 10 Sep 2024 | CVE record published |
| 10 Sep 2024 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 1 Oct 2024 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 10 Aug 2026 | CVE record last updated |
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