CVE-2000-0277
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Excel 97 and 2000 does not warn the user when executing Excel Macro Language (XLM) macros in external text files, which could allow an attacker to execute a macro virus, aka the "XLM Text Macro" vulnerability.
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 confidenceMicrosoft Excel 97 and 2000 fails to warn users when executing Excel Macro Language (XLM) macros embedded in external text files. This allows macros to run silently without user interaction or consent, enabling macro virus execution with the user's privileges.
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= 97= 2000CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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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Confirm Excel versionOpen Excel and go to Help > About Microsoft Excel, or right-click the Excel executable file and select Properties to view version informationAffected if The version displays as Microsoft Excel 97 or Microsoft Excel 2000 specifically
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Verify Excel macro security levelIn Excel, navigate to Tools > Macro > Security (in Excel 2000) or Tools > Options > Security (in Excel 97) to view the macro security settingAffected if Macro security is set to Low, which allows all macros to run without notification, or to Medium without prompts configured for external sources
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Check for XLM macro sheet supportIn Excel 97 or 2000, try creating a new macro sheet via Insert > Worksheet, then right-click and select Insert > MS Excel 4.0 Macro, or check if the workbook can contain macro sheetsAffected if XLM macro sheet functionality is present and available in the workbook
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Test external text file macro behaviorCreate a text file with XLM macro syntax (e.g., =EXEC("notepad.exe")), save it with a .xls extension or open it directly in Excel to see if macros execute without warningAffected if Excel opens the text file and executes XLM commands without displaying any security warning or macro execution prompt
If Excel version is 97 or 2000 and macro security is set to Low/Medium with XLM support enabled, the environment is vulnerable to silent XLM macro execution from external text files.
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 dataApply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability (MS00-023) or upgrade Excel to versions that enforce macro warnings for external sources. Disable XLM macro execution via Excel security settings if upgrading is not feasible.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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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-2000-0277 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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