CVE-2000-0854Office Vulnerability
When a Microsoft Office 2000 document is launched, the directory of that document is first used to locate DLL's such as riched20.dll and msi.dll, which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands by inserting a Trojan Horse DLL into the same directory as the document.
Published Nov 14, 2000 · Updated Apr 15, 2026
Key Facts
Patch immediately- CVE-2000-0854 is a critical-severity vulnerability (CVSS 10.0 v2) affecting Office (Microsoft).
- It is not listed in any known-exploited vulnerabilities catalog. Public exploit code is available.
- EPSS estimates a 37% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- No fixed version is listed yet; check the vendor advisory for mitigations.
- Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because public exploit code exists for a high-severity flaw.
Scores
CVSS v2
10.0
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
EPSS (30-day exploit likelihood)
37%
Higher than 98.5% of all scored CVEs
Exploit maturity
Proof of concept
ATLAS score
40/100
Publication score, see How it works
Exploitation Verdict
KEV listed
Not listed
Federal due date
None
No federal due date
Ransomware use
Not reported
Attributed actors
None named
Exploit & Defence Guidance
Exploit maturity
Proof of concept
Public exploit code
1
Proof-of-concept links
In-the-wild evidence
0
Reports of active use
Advisories And Exploit References
Description
When a Microsoft Office 2000 document is launched, the directory of that document is first used to locate DLL's such as riched20.dll and msi.dll, which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands by inserting a Trojan Horse DLL into the same directory as the document.
Affected Products
1 affected entries in total| Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| OfficeMicrosoft | 2000 | n/a |
Timeline
Publicly disclosed
Nov 14, 2000
Last updated
Apr 15, 2026
References
- advisory20000918 Double clicking on MS Office documents from Windows Explorer may execute arbitrary programs in some cases
- patch1699
- exploitExploitDB-20232
- other20000922 Eudora + riched20.dll affects WinZip v8.0 as well
- other20000921 Mitigators for possible exploit of Eudora via Guninski #21,2000
FAQ
Common Questions.
When a Microsoft Office 2000 document is launched, the directory of that document is first used to locate DLL's such as riched20.dll and msi.dll, which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands by inserting a Trojan Horse DLL into the same directory as the document.
Affected: Office (Microsoft) versions 2000. The full list is in the CVE brief.
It is not listed in any known-exploited vulnerabilities catalog.
No, it is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Public exploit code is available.
No fixed version is listed yet; check the vendor advisory for mitigations.
Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because public exploit code exists for a high-severity flaw.
Is CVE-2000-0854 On Your Attack Surface?
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