CVE-2016-3235: Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability

Reference page built from the source records below, each shown as its source publishes it. Dataset version ref-6ca6a8317976, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z.

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name: Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability
Vendor: Microsoft
Product: Office
Added to the catalog: 2021-11-03
Due date for US federal agencies: 2022-05-03
Weaknesses: CWE-264
Catalog version: 2026.10.30

Microsoft Office Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) dynamic link library (DLL) contains a side loading vulnerability due to it improperly validating input before loading libraries. Successful exploitation allows for remote code execution.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.

Links in CISA's notes

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3235

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: 2016-06-16T01:59:36.983
Last modified: 2026-06-17T00:45:20.667
Weaknesses: NVD-CWE-noinfo

Microsoft Visio 2007 SP3, Visio 2010 SP2, Visio 2013 SP1, Visio 2016, Visio Viewer 2007 SP3, and Visio Viewer 2010 mishandle library loading, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability."

Metric	Score	Severity	Vector	Scored by
CVSS 3.1	7.8	HIGH	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H	[email protected] (Primary)
CVSS 3.1	7.8	HIGH	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Secondary)
CVSS 2.0	9.3	HIGH	AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C	[email protected] (Primary)

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/137490/Microsoft-Visio-DLL-Hijacking.html (Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Jun/32 (Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/538685/100/0/threaded (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036093 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-070 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
https://www.securify.nl/advisory/SFY20150804/microsoft_visio_multiple_dll_side_loading_vulnerabilities.html (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/137490/Microsoft-Visio-DLL-Hijacking.html (Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Jun/32 (Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/538685/100/0/threaded (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036093 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-070 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
https://www.securify.nl/advisory/SFY20150804/microsoft_visio_multiple_dll_side_loading_vulnerabilities.html (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-3235 (US Government Resource)

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

Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:35.381Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2016-3235

CVE record

Assigner: microsoft
State: PUBLISHED
Published: 2016-06-16T01:00:00.000Z
Updated: 2025-10-21T23:55:51.339Z
Problem types: n/a

References

https://www.securify.nl/advisory/SFY20150804/microsoft_visio_multiple_dll_side_loading_vulnerabilities.html
MS16-070
20160615 Microsoft Visio multiple DLL side loading vulnerabilities
1036093
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/137490/Microsoft-Visio-DLL-Hijacking.html
20160615 Microsoft Visio multiple DLL side loading vulnerabilities

Read on 2026-11-03T00:33:35.605Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2016/3xxx/CVE-2016-3235.json

Sources and licences

CISA
Source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30, CC0 1.0. Use of this data does not imply endorsement by CISA or DHS.
CC0 1.0 Universal
National Vulnerability Database (NIST)
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
NVD API Terms of Use (NIST publications in the public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105)
CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation
Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.
CVE Program Terms of Use ("CVE Usage" licence)

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "CVE-2016-3235: Microsoft Office OLE DLL Side Loading Vulnerability",
entity page, dataset version ref-6ca6a8317976, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/cve/CVE-2016-3235 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30.
Underlying source: National Vulnerability Database (NIST), CVE API 2.0, record last modified 2026-06-17T00:45:20.667.
Underlying source: CVE List (CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation), record updated 2025-10-21T23:55:51.339Z.

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