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CVE-2012-0158 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the MSCOMCTL.OCX ActiveX control library used by multiple Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office and several other Microsoft applications that embed the Common Controls component. The flaw affects the ListView, ListView2, TreeView, and TreeView2 ActiveX controls. A specially crafted Office document, RTF file, or web page can trigger corruption of internal system state in these controls, leading to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution in the context of the user opening or rendering the malicious content. The vulnerability was widely weaponized in malicious documents and exploit builders and was extensively used in targeted phishing and malware delivery campaigns.
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1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a single Metasploit module (Ruby) that exploits CVE-2012-0158, a stack buffer overflow in the MSCOMCTL.OCX ActiveX control used by Microsoft Office. The exploit generates a malicious RTF file ('msf.doc') that, when opened in a vulnerable version of Microsoft Office (2007 or 2010 SP1 on Windows XP SP3 or Windows 7 SP1), triggers the vulnerability and executes arbitrary code. The module supports custom Metasploit payloads, allowing for a variety of post-exploitation actions (e.g., reverse shell, meterpreter). For Office 2010, the exploit uses a sophisticated ROP chain leveraging msgr3en.dll to bypass DEP/ASLR. The exploit is weaponized, highly configurable, and designed for use within the Metasploit framework. The only fingerprintable endpoints are the generated malicious file, the targeted MSCOMCTL.OCX control, and the msgr3en.dll used in the ROP chain.
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Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
71 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A Microsoft Word vulnerability exploited via crafted RTF documents masquerading as .doc files to execute malicious code and deliver the Surtr malware family.
A Microsoft Office ActiveX control vulnerability used as a long-running initial access vector in spear-phishing to execute code and deploy Lotus Blossom implants (Emissary explicitly referenced).
A Windows Common Controls remote code execution vulnerability listed among top exploited CVEs.
A well-known vulnerability used in document-based exploit lures in espionage campaigns targeting Tibetan groups.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.