MS15-116: Description of the security update for Office 2016 for Mac: November 10, 2015

This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Office file. To learn more about these vulnerabilities, see Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-116. Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac includes versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook that are designed for the Mac and yet are unmistakably Office. The October 13, 2015, update provides fixes for issues in the Office 2016 for Mac Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook).

Note To install this update, you must be running OS X Yosemite 10.10 or a later version, and you must have a valid Microsoft Office 365 subscription. Additionally, see more information about Office 365 Subscription options. If you already have Office 2011 for Mac installed, you can run Office 2011 and Office 2016 side-by-side.

For a complete list of affected versions of Microsoft Office software, see KB3104540.

Improvements and fixes

This update provides the following fixes and improvements:

• Outlook
  • Meetings are duplicated thousands of times in Outlook 2016 for Mac.
  • Highlight flagged items: Flagged items now have a yellow background so that they easily stand out in your message list.
  • Software updates.
• Word
  • Updated citation styles for research papers: New support for common citation styles and updated existing citation styles to reflect recent version guidelines.
  • Software updates.
• Excel
  • Improved font smoothing: Improvements to the display of fonts on non-retina displays.
  • Improved scrolling: Behavior is improved to feel more natural.
  • Software updates that include the following:
    • OS X scrollbar preferences: In OS X, Excel now correctly respects the scroll bar preferences that you specified. 
• PowerPoint
  • Software updates that include the following:
    • Text editing improvements in tables.