Earlier this fall, Microsoft released a security update focused on improved security in Microsoft Office that, is in the most sever cases, could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specifically crafted Office file. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
For a complete list of affected versions of Microsoft Office software, click here.
Improvements and fixes
- Outlook
- New Chinese and Japanese default fonts. Existing Japanese and Simplified Chinese fonts in Outlook for Mac have been updated to have a unified modern appearance and behavior.
- Software updates that include the following:
- Improved VoiceOver support for weather in the Calendar feature
- Email address is now included in the default message attribution when you reply and forward
- Message list is now displayed correctly when you switch folders by having the Reading Pane turned off
- Improved Reminders functionality to reduce CPU consumption
- Improved use of advanced search operators for non-English languages
- Word
- Visual Basic Editor improvements (you can now add modules and references and use debug shortcuts in the Visual Basic Editor)
- New Chinese and Japanese default fonts. Existing Japanese and Simplified Chinese fonts in Word for Mac have been updated to have a unified modern appearance and behavior
- Software updates that include the following:
- Custom paper sizes in Page Setup are now supported
- Find/Replace is corrected to move to the next matched word when Track Changes is turned on
- Fixed crashes that occur when you use Mail Merge together with Outlook
- Headers/Footers: Page numbering: Number of Pages option is corrected to display numbers greater than two digits
- Excel
- New Chinese and Japanese default Fonts. Existing Japanese and Simplified Chinese fonts in Excel for Mac have been updated to have a unified modern appearance and behavior
- Visual Basic Editor improvements (you can now add modules and references and use debug shortcuts in the Visual Basic Editor)
- Software updates that include the following:
- Improved support for pasting from external applications
- Scroll bars now correctly respect OS X scroll bar settings
- PowerPoint
- New Chinese and Japanese default fonts. Existing Japanese and Simplified Chinese fonts in PowerPoint for Mac have been updated to have a unified modern appearance and behavior.
- Visual Basic Editor improvements (you can now add modules and references and use debug shortcuts in the Visual Basic Editor)
- Software updates
How to obtain and install the update
Method 1: Microsoft AutoUpdate for Mac
This update is available from Microsoft AutoUpdate. AutoUpdate is provided together with Office. It automatically keeps Microsoft software up-to-date. To use AutoUpdate, start a Microsoft Office program, and then click Check for Updates on the Help menu.
Method 2: Microsoft Download Center
For more information about this security update deployment, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article KB3096440.