CVE-2006-3868
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Office XP and 2003 allows remote user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed Smart Tag.
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 confidenceThis is a remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Office XP and 2003 affecting the Smart Tag feature. A malformed Smart Tag embedded in a specially crafted Office document can trigger arbitrary code execution when opened by a user.
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= 2003= xpCVSS 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
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:H/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.
-
Identify the installed Microsoft Office versionOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Common\InstallRoot, or right-click WINWORD.EXE (typically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\) and select Properties to view the File Version. Common paths for Office XP: Office10, Office 2003: Office11.Affected if The version displayed is 10.x (Office XP) or 11.x (Office 2003)
-
Verify the Smart Tag feature is enabledIn Word, go to Tools > AutoCorrect Options > Smart Tags tab. In Excel, go to Tools > Options > Smart Tags tab. Alternatively, check the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Common\SmartTags\Recognize and verify it exists or is set to a value that enables recognition.Affected if Smart Tag recognition is turned ON or the Recognize registry value is set to 1
-
Confirm the Smart Tag DLL is presentLocate the Smart Tag DLL file. For Office 2003, check C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Smart Tag\ for files like mstag.dll. For Office XP, check the equivalent path under the Office10 directory.Affected if The Smart Tag DLL (mstag.dll or similar) exists in the Smart Tag directory and is loaded by Office applications
-
Check for recent document handling from untrusted sourcesReview recently opened Office documents in the Windows Recent folder (%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Word\Recent or Excel\Recent) or examine email attachments that were opened, particularly from unknown or untrusted senders.Affected if Users have opened or are likely to open Office documents from untrusted or unknown sources without malware scanning
You are affected if Microsoft Office XP or 2003 is installed AND the Smart Tag feature is enabled, as the vulnerability requires both conditions to be exploitable via a malformed Smart Tag in a crafted document.
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 or upgrade from the obsolete Office XP/2003 to a supported version. Avoid opening untrusted Office documents from unknown sources.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-3868 — 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-2006-3868 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
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.
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