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PowerpointApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2001-0005

MEDIUM · 6.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2001-02-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Buffer overflow in the parsing mechanism of the file loader in Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands.

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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft PowerPoint 2000's file loader parsing mechanism allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands by crafting a malicious PowerPoint file.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patch for CVE-2001-0005 or upgrade PowerPoint 2000 to a supported version. Since this is a client-side vulnerability, ensure endpoint protection and user awareness to prevent opening untrusted files.

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
PowerpointApplication
Affected:= 2000

CVSS 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
High
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Microsoft PowerPoint version
    Open PowerPoint, then go to Help > About Microsoft PowerPoint, or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office 2000 installation details, or inspect the registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PowerPoint.Application\CurVer
    Affected if The installed version is Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 (version 9.0)
  2. Confirm Office 2000 PowerPoint component
    Check the PowerPoint executable file properties: locate PPT9.exe (typically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\) and view the File Version in the Details tab
    Affected if File version corresponds to PowerPoint 2000 (9.0.xxxx)
  3. Verify file parsing is accessible
    The vulnerability is in the native file loader - ensure PowerPoint can open files. Test by opening any legitimate .ppt file through File > Open
    Affected if PowerPoint 2000 opens and parses .ppt files without error, meaning the vulnerable parsing code is active

You are affected if Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 is installed and can open PowerPoint files, as the buffer overflow exists in the file loader parsing mechanism for this specific version.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patch for CVE-2001-0005 or upgrade PowerPoint 2000 to a supported version. Since this is a client-side vulnerability, ensure endpoint protection and user awareness to prevent opening untrusted files.

Fix this in Powerpoint Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2001-0005 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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