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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2006-5574

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-12-31
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
Unspecified vulnerability in the Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker in Microsoft Office 2003 and the Multilingual Interface for Office 2003, Project 2003, and Visio 2003 allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted text that is not properly parsed.

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

A parsing vulnerability in the Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker component of Microsoft Office 2003, Multilingual Interface for Office 2003, Project 2003, and Visio 2003 allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens specially crafted text content. The vulnerability requires user-assisted attack (e.g., opening a malicious document).

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS06-060 (or subsequent relevant patches) to affected Office 2003 installations. If Office 2003 is no longer supported, migrate to currently supported Microsoft Office versions.

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:= 2003
Office Multilingual User Interface PackApplication
Affected:= 2003
Office Proofing ToolsApplication
Affected:= 2003
Project Multilingual User Interface PackApplication
Affected:= 2003
VisioApplication
Affected:= 2003

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. Verify Office 2003 product is installed
    Open Add/Remove Programs (appwiz.cpl) or use command 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\11.0" /s' to locate Microsoft Office 2003 installation registry entries
    Affected if Microsoft Office 2003 is listed as installed
  2. Check for Brazilian Portuguese language support
    Look for proofing tools or language packs: Check registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\InstallRoot for language identifiers, or inspect the Microsoft Office Shared folder for proofing tools
    Affected if Brazilian Portuguese (pt-BR) proofing tools or language pack is installed as part of Office 2003
  3. Verify Grammar Checker component exists
    Locate the grammar checker DLL in the Office proofing tools directory (typically in Office11\PROOF\pt-br or Office11\1046 folder). Use file search for GRMCHECK or similar grammar-related DLLs with pt-br in the path
    Affected if The Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker component (GRMCHECK.DLL or equivalent) is present on the system
  4. Compare installed grammar checker version
    Right-click the grammar checker DLL file, select Properties, then Details to view file version. Compare against the fixed version provided in MS06-060 security bulletin
    Affected if The grammar checker DLL version is lower than the patched version, or the component exists without having received MS06-060 update

The system is affected if Office 2003 or any listed affected product is installed AND the Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker component is present AND MS06-060 has not been applied.

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 MS06-060 (or subsequent relevant patches) to affected Office 2003 installations. If Office 2003 is no longer supported, migrate to currently supported Microsoft Office versions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021 (any supported Office version newer than Office 2003)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running Microsoft Office 2003, Office Multilingual User Interface Pack 2003, Office Proofing Tools 2003, Project 2003 Multilingual User Interface Pack, or Visio 2003 that have the Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker enabled.
  2. 2. Either apply the original security update MS06-061 (if available through your patch management) OR migrate to a supported Microsoft Office version.
  3. 3. If migrating to a newer Office version: install Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021 on affected systems.
  4. 4. Verify the Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker component is functioning correctly in the new version.
  5. 5. Remove Office 2003 from all affected systems after migration is complete.
Caveat Migration from Office 2003 to modern Office versions may require license procurement, file format adjustments for legacy .doc/.xls/.ppt files, and user retraining; legacy VBA macros and older add-ins may require updates or replacement.

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2006-5574 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