CVE-2012-0185

Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Excel 2007 SP2 and SP3 and 2010 Gold and SP1, Excel Viewer, and Office Compatibility Pack SP2 and SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet that triggers incorrect handling of memory during opening, aka "Excel MergeCells Record Heap Overflow Vulnerability."

Published: 2012-05-09 Last update: 2026-04-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2012-0185 is rated High Risk (66.6/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 64.69%, 98th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2012-0185

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 74.00% 64.69% -9.31%
2 2025-03-29 64.69% 74.00% +9.31%
3 2025-03-19 — 64.69% —

Full EPSS history (14 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2012-0185

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2012-0185

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2012-0185

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft excel 2007 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:excel:2007:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft excel 2007 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:excel:2007:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft excel 2010 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:excel:2010:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft excel 2010 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:excel:2010:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft excel_viewer — cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:excel_viewer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft office_compatibility_pack — cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_compatibility_pack:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft office_compatibility_pack — cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_compatibility_pack:*:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2012-0185

cvelogic Threat Intelligence