Reference page — cumulative record through Sunday, October 4, 2026 UTC. Reference pages update as the archive grows; only dated daily editions are immutable pages of record.
CVE-2020-0901
Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
AV AC PR UI S C I A CVSS EPSS %ile KEV
N L N N U H H H 9.8 .0431 90.9 —
AFFECTED
Product Versions Fixed
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise 16.0.1 – —
Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 13.0.0.0 – —
Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 15.0.0.0 – —
Microsoft Excel 2016 16.0.0.0 – —
Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac 16.0.0 – —
Microsoft Office 2019 19.0.0 – —
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac 16.0.0 – —
TIMELINE
Nov 4 Reserved by microsoft
May 21 Published (CNA: microsoft)
Aug 19 ENRICHED — CVE-2020-0901 (Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise). Received CVSS 9.8 and CPE data from NVD.
Description
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Excel software when the software fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Excel. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) containing a specially crafted file designed to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file.
The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Excel handles objects in memory.
Lifecycle
Complete event history — 3 events, chronological
| Date | Event | Detail |
|---|
| November 4, 2019 | Reserved | Reserved by microsoft |
| May 21, 2020 | Published | Published (CNA: microsoft) |
| August 19, 2026 | ENRICHED | ENRICHED — CVE-2020-0901 (Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise). Received CVSS 9.8 and CPE data from NVD. |
Affected
Affected products and packages — 7 rows
| Vendor | Product / Package | Ecosystem | Version introduced | Fixed |
|---|
| Microsoft | Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise | — | 16.0.1 | — |
| Microsoft | Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 | — | 13.0.0.0 | — |
| Microsoft | Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 | — | 15.0.0.0 | — |
| Microsoft | Microsoft Excel 2016 | — | 16.0.0.0 | — |
| Microsoft | Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac | — | 16.0.0 | — |
| Microsoft | Microsoft Office 2019 | — | 19.0.0 | — |
| Microsoft | Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac | — | 16.0.0 | — |
About this page
This is a reference page, not a dated page of record. It assembles the complete lifecycle of CVE-2020-0901 from the CVE Program record, NVD enrichment, the CISA KEV catalog, EPSS, and OSV advisories. The box score's numbers (CVSS, EPSS, KEV status) are current as of Sunday, October 4, 2026 UTC and are re-derived as the archive grows; only dated daily editions are immutable pages of record. The authoritative source for this identifier is cve.org.
