CVE-1999-0354
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedInternet Explorer 4.x or 5.x with Word 97 allows arbitrary execution of Visual Basic programs to the IE client through the Word 97 template, which doesn't warn the user that the template contains executable content. Also applies to Outlook when the client views a malicious email message.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceInternet Explorer 4.x or 5.x in combination with Word 97 (and Outlook) allows arbitrary Visual Basic program execution through Word templates without user warnings. The vulnerability exploits the trust relationship between IE and Word 97 templates containing executable active content, enabling remote code execution via malicious email or web content.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 4.0= 5.0= 97CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Internet Explorer versionOpen Internet Explorer, go to Help > About Internet Explorer, or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionAffected if The version is listed as 4.0 or 5.0 specifically
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Check installed Microsoft Word versionOpen Microsoft Word, go to Help > About Microsoft Word, or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Word\InstallRoot for Word 97Affected if The version is listed as Word 97 (version 8.0)
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Verify macro execution settings in WordIn Word, go to Tools > Options > Security tab > Macro Settings, or in newer versions go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro SettingsAffected if Macros are set to Enable all macros or Disable all macros with notification is not selected, allowing automatic macro execution without user warning
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Confirm Outlook email security zone configurationIn Outlook, go to Tools > Options > Security tab (Outlook 2003 and earlier), or check registry HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Security for Zone settingsAffected if The security zone is set to Restricted or macros/scripts are allowed to run in email messages without prompts
A system is affected if it runs Internet Explorer 4.0 or 5.0 together with Word 97, with macro or active content execution enabled in Word or Outlook settings.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade Internet Explorer to a patched version (IE 6 SP1 or later) and Word/Office to patched versions, or disable active content/macro execution in Office applications. For Outlook, configure email security zones to block executable content in messages.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0354 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-1999-0354 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data