dbcve.org
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2006-3650

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-10-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Microsoft Office 2000, XP, 2003, 2004 for Mac, and v.X for Mac do not properly parse the length of a chart record, which allows remote user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Word document with an embedded malformed chart record that triggers an overwrite of pointer values with values from the document, a different vulnerability than CVE-2006-3434, CVE-2006-3864, and CVE-2006-3868.

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 confidence

Microsoft Office fails to properly parse the length field of chart records in Word documents. When a user opens a specially crafted Word document containing a malformed chart record, the parsing error allows the attacker to overwrite pointer values with arbitrary values from the document, enabling remote code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS06-038 to all affected Office installations, and warn users against opening untrusted Word documents from unknown sources.

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2000= 2001= 2003= 2004= v.x

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
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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 Office version
    Open Word, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Word. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features for installed Microsoft Office versions.
    Affected if The installed version is 2000, 2001, 2003, or 2004 (or any version matching the v.x designation in the affected products list)
  2. Check for MS06-038 security update
    Open Windows Update history or check Add/Remove Programs for installed updates. Search for security update MS06-038 or KB917288.
    Affected if The MS06-038 security update is NOT installed on the system
  3. Determine if Microsoft Office is used in the environment
    Verify whether Microsoft Office with Word component is installed by checking Program Files for Microsoft Office installations or querying installed software via system management tools.
    Affected if Microsoft Office (specifically Word) is installed and the version falls within the affected range (2000-2004 or v.x)
  4. Inspect opened Word documents for chart records
    Since the vulnerability triggers when opening a malformed chart record within a Word document, examine any recently opened or suspicious Word files if they are available. Use a hex editor or document parsing tool to inspect the chart record structure.
    Affected if A Word document containing a malformed chart record has been opened, allowing pointer overwrite

A system is affected if it runs Microsoft Office versions 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, or v.x AND has not applied security update MS06-038, and users open Word documents containing malformed chart records.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security update MS06-038 to all affected Office installations, and warn users against opening untrusted Word documents from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021 (any currently supported Microsoft Office version)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Microsoft Office version on each affected system
  2. 2. Back up all critical documents and data
  3. 3. Uninstall the affected Microsoft Office versions (2000, XP, 2003, 2004 for Mac, or v.X for Mac)
  4. 4. Install a currently supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021)
  5. 5. Ensure Windows/Mac security updates are applied after the upgrade
  6. 6. Verify that Microsoft Office functions correctly and document the new version for inventory
Caveat Legacy features and macros from older Office versions may require updating or reconfiguration; file format compatibility should be tested with existing documents

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-3650 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2006-3650 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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