dbcve.org
OpenofficeApplication

CVE-2007-0238

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-03-21
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
Stack-based buffer overflow in filter\starcalc\scflt.cxx in the StarCalc parser in OpenOffice.org (OOo) Office Suite before 2.2, and 1.x before 1.1.5 Patch, allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a document with a long Note.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow in the StarCalc (spreadsheet) parser component of OpenOffice.org allows arbitrary code execution when processing a malicious document containing an excessively long Note field. The vulnerability is triggerable through user-assisted vector (opening a crafted .scx or similar StarCalc file).

MitigationUpgrade OpenOffice.org to version 2.2 or later, or apply the 1.1.5 patch to vulnerable 1.x versions. Avoid opening untrusted StarCalc documents until patched.

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
OpenofficeApplication
Affected:all versions

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 OpenOffice.org version
    Check the version of OpenOffice.org installed. On Linux: rpm -qa | grep -i openoffice or dpkg -l | grep -i openoffice. On Windows: Check Add/Remove Programs or the About dialog in any OpenOffice application.
    Affected if The installed version is prior to 2.2, or is a 1.x version without the 1.1.5 patch applied.
  2. Confirm StarCalc component presence
    Verify that the StarCalc spreadsheet application is installed. On Linux: check for 'scalc' package or the calc component. On Windows: look for calc.exe in the OpenOffice program directory.
    Affected if StarCalc is installed and accessible to users.
  3. Check for untrusted .scx file processing capability
    Verify that OpenOffice can open .scx (StarCalc) or older spreadsheet formats. Try opening any existing .scx file or check file association settings.
    Affected if Users can open .scx or legacy StarCalc documents through OpenOffice.
  4. Inspect Note field handling in documents
    This is a code-level check: the vulnerability triggers when processing a Note field exceeding normal length. There is no runtime config to check; the vulnerability exists in the parser itself.
    Affected if The parser code has not been patched to bounds-check Note field lengths (versions prior to 2.2 or unpatched 1.x).

A user is affected if they run any OpenOffice.org version prior to 2.2 (or unpatched 1.x) and have the ability to open StarCalc documents, as the vulnerability lies in the parser component processing Note fields in .scx files.

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

Upgrade OpenOffice.org to version 2.2 or later, or apply the 1.1.5 patch to vulnerable 1.x versions. Avoid opening untrusted StarCalc documents until patched.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenOffice.org 2.2 or later (or 1.1.5 Patch)

  1. 1. Backup all important OpenOffice documents before upgrading
  2. 2. Uninstall current version of OpenOffice.org
  3. 3. Download OpenOffice.org version 2.2 or later (or version 1.1.5 with Patch) from official archives
  4. 4. Install the fixed version of OpenOffice.org
  5. 5. Verify the installation by checking Help > About OpenOffice.org shows the fixed version number
Caveat This is a legacy product from 2007; archived versions may have compatibility issues with modern operating systems and document formats

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

Fix this in Openoffice Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2007-0238 — 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-2007-0238 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