dbcve.org
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2007-0209

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-02-13
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 Word in Office 2000 SP3, XP SP3, Office 2003 SP2, Works Suite 2004 to 2006, and Office 2004 for Mac allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Word file with a malformed drawing object, which leads to memory corruption.

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

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word's parsing of drawing objects. Attackers craft malicious Word files with malformed drawing structures that cause Word to write beyond allocated memory buffers, enabling arbitrary code execution with the user's privileges. This is a classic heap-based buffer overflow in the Word document parser.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security patches (MS07-014) to all affected Office installations, or upgrade to patched versions of Office. Additionally, configure email/endpoint filtering to block untrusted Word attachments and educate users not to open documents from untrusted 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= 2003= 2004= xp
WorksApplication
Affected:= 2004= 2005= 2006

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. Check if Microsoft Word is installed
    Locate WINWORD.EXE on the system. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\WINWORD.EXE (Office XX varies by version: Office 2000=10, XP=11, 2003=11) or C:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\Mswrd8.wpc. Also check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office in the Windows Registry for installed Office versions.
    Affected if WINWORD.EXE or Microsoft Works word processor is not found - the system is not affected because the vulnerable software is not installed.
  2. Determine the exact Office version
    Right-click WINWORD.EXE, select Properties, then view the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, run 'winword.exe /?' from Command Prompt, or check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\X.0\Common\InstallRoot where X is 9.0 (Office 2000), 10.0 (Office XP), or 11.0 (Office 2003).
    Affected if The version is 9.0.x (Office 2000), 10.0.x (Office XP), or 11.0.x (Office 2003) - these versions are affected by CVE-2007-0209.
  3. Determine the exact Microsoft Works version
    Check the Works installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Works) for version information, or check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Works\InstallRoot. Also check file properties of mswrd8.wpc or wkswrd.exe.
    Affected if The version is 2004, 2005, or 2006 - these versions of Microsoft Works are affected.
  4. Verify the patch status
    Check if the Microsoft security patch MS07-014 has been applied. Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' from Command Prompt and look for a hotfix related to MS07-014 or KB929314.
    Affected if The MS07-014 patch is NOT installed - the system remains vulnerable despite having an affected version.

A system is affected if it runs Microsoft Office 2000, XP, 2003, or 2004, or Microsoft Works 2004, 2005, or 2006, AND the MS07-014 security patch 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 the relevant Microsoft security patches (MS07-014) to all affected Office installations, or upgrade to patched versions of Office. Additionally, configure email/endpoint filtering to block untrusted Word attachments and educate users not to open documents from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 2007 or later (all affected versions are end-of-life)

  1. Upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office (Office 2007 or later)
  2. Ensure Microsoft security updates are applied through Windows Update or Microsoft Update
  3. For legacy systems still running affected versions, apply the relevant Microsoft security bulletin patches if available
  4. Enable macro blocking and use the Trust Center settings in Microsoft Office to restrict executable content
  5. Educate users to not open untrusted Word documents, particularly from unknown sources
Caveat Older Office file formats may have compatibility issues when opening in newer versions; macro-enabled documents will be blocked by default in newer versions

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2007-0209 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