CVE-2025-29816: 
vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-29816 is a security feature bypass vulnerability affecting Microsoft Office Word. The vulnerability was discovered and disclosed on April 8, 2025, impacting Microsoft Office 2016 and its various editions including Office Standard, Professional, Professional Plus, Home and Business, and Home and Student (Microsoft Support).

The vulnerability stems from improper input validation in Microsoft Office Word that allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature over a network. Microsoft has assigned this vulnerability a CVSS v3.1 Base Score of 7.5 (HIGH) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating network vector attack capability with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (NVD).

The vulnerability affects the security features of Microsoft Word, potentially allowing attackers to bypass security controls over a network. This could compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems, as indicated by the high severity ratings in all three categories of the CVSS score (NVD).

Microsoft has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Users can obtain the fix through multiple channels: Microsoft Update, Microsoft Update Catalog, or the Microsoft Download Center. For Office 2016 installations, users need to install both KB5002700 and KB5002623 updates to fully resolve the issue. Note that the updates apply to Microsoft Installer (.msi)-based editions and not to Click-to-Run editions like Microsoft Office 365 Home (Microsoft Support).