CVE-2012-0158: Microsoft MSCOMCTL.OCX Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name

Microsoft MSCOMCTL.OCX Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Vendor

Microsoft

Product

MSCOMCTL.OCX

Added to the catalog

2021-11-03

Due date for US federal agencies

2022-05-03

Weaknesses

CWE-94

Catalog version

2026.10.30

Microsoft MSCOMCTL.OCX contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for remote code execution, allowing an attacker to take complete control of an affected system under the context of the current user.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA marks this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns. CISA does not say which group used it.

Links in CISA's notes

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-0158

Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

NVD analysis

Status

Analyzed

Published

2012-04-10T21:55:01.687

Last modified

2026-06-16T23:36:48.343

Weaknesses

CWE-94

The (1) ListView, (2) ListView2, (3) TreeView, and (4) TreeView2 ActiveX controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in the Common Controls in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Office 2003 Web Components SP3; SQL Server 2000 SP4, 2005 SP4, and 2008 SP2, SP3, and R2; BizTalk Server 2002 SP1; Commerce Server 2002 SP4, 2007 SP2, and 2009 Gold and R2; Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1 and 9.0 SP2; and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (a) web site, (b) Office document, or (c) .rtf file that triggers "system state" corruption, as exploited in the wild in April 2012, aka "MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE Vulnerability."

References

• http://opensources.info/comment-on-the-curious-case-of-a-cve-2012-0158-exploit-by-chris-pierce/ (Broken Link)
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/52911 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026899 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026900 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026902 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026903 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026904 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026905 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-101A.html (Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-027 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/74372 (Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A15462 (Broken Link)
• http://opensources.info/comment-on-the-curious-case-of-a-cve-2012-0158-exploit-by-chris-pierce/ (Broken Link)
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/52911 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026899 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026900 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026902 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026903 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026904 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1026905 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-101A.html (Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-027 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/74372 (Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A15462 (Broken Link)
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2012-0158 (US Government Resource)

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:28.906Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2012-0158

CVE record

Assigner

microsoft

State

PUBLISHED

Published

2012-04-10T21:00:00.000Z

Updated

2025-10-22T00:05:47.862Z

Problem types

n/a

The (1) ListView, (2) ListView2, (3) TreeView, and (4) TreeView2 ActiveX controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in the Common Controls in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Office 2003 Web Components SP3; SQL Server 2000 SP4, 2005 SP4, and 2008 SP2, SP3, and R2; BizTalk Server 2002 SP1; Commerce Server 2002 SP4, 2007 SP2, and 2009 Gold and R2; Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1 and 9.0 SP2; and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (a) web site, (b) Office document, or (c) .rtf file that triggers "system state" corruption, as exploited in the wild in April 2012, aka "MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE Vulnerability."

References

• 1026902
• 1026899
• TA12-101A
• 1026904
• 1026903
• 1026905
• http://opensources.info/comment-on-the-curious-case-of-a-cve-2012-0158-exploit-by-chris-pierce/
• MS12-027
• oval:org.mitre.oval:def:15462
• 52911
• ms-activex-control-code-execution(74372)
• 1026900

Read on 2026-11-03T00:23:58.432Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2012/0xxx/CVE-2012-0158.json

Defensive techniques (MITRE D3FEND)

D3FEND maps these defensive techniques to the weakness (CWE) that NVD lists for this CVE, through the digital artifacts the weakness affects. D3FEND does not say they stop this vulnerability.

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