in a security alertMicrosoft has warned users how easy it is for hackers to distribute malware using its Outlook email client. Microsoft has already released a patch for the free user vulnerability CVE-2025-21298 and urges users to apply it immediately.
Microsoft gave the vulnerability a severity score of 9.8 (Critical) because it uses freed memory and corrupts valid data or remotely distributes malware. This bug is found in the Windows Object Linking and Embedding (OLED) feature, which allows you to embed and link documents and other objects, such as adding an Excel chart to a Word document. It is so dangerous that you can get infected by previewing the specially crafted email.
The vulnerability might be exploited by a victim opening a specifically made email using an affected version of Microsoft Outlook software, or by the victim’s Outlook application presenting a specially prepared email preview, according to Microsoft’s security alert. The attacker might exploit this to run remote code on the victim’s computer.
If you can’t apply the patch at this time, Microsoft recommends applying tips such as viewing your emails on large LANs as plain text and disabling or restricting NTLM traffic entirely. Basically all animations, images and different fonts are removed. Your emails won’t look as elegant when you view them in plain text, but this way you can avoid lost customers, business interruptions, and possibly regulatory fines.
No app is perfect and sooner or later you will encounter problems. Even Outlook has common problems, but if you are facing some basic problems, we have you covered. how to fix them. This is not the first major problem Outlook has faced Hackers can view emails. some time ago.
