dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2007-3029

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-07-10
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
Unspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP2 allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed Excel file containing multiple active worksheets, which results in 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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP2 allows arbitrary code execution when users open malformed Excel files containing multiple active worksheets. The vulnerability is user-assisted, requiring the victim to open a specially crafted file, and results in heap-based memory corruption enabling remote code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates KB948989 and KB943889 for Excel 2002 and 2003 respectively, and enforce policies prohibiting opening of untrusted or unsolicited Excel attachments from external 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
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2003= xp

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 Excel version
    Open Excel, go to Help > About Microsoft Excel, or check registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Application\CurVer
    Affected if Version is not Excel 2002 or Excel 2003 (vulnerability only affects these versions)
  2. Verify Excel 2002 Service Pack level
    Check Excel > Help > About for SP3 mention, or check registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\SvcPack
    Affected if Excel 2002 is installed but Service Pack is lower than SP3 (SP1 or SP2)
  3. Verify Excel 2003 Service Pack level
    Check Excel > Help > About for SP2 mention, or check registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\SvcPack
    Affected if Excel 2003 is installed but Service Pack is lower than SP2 (SP1)
  4. Confirm security update KB948989 is installed (Excel 2002)
    Check Windows Update history, or view installed updates in Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or check registry for the specific KB patch
    Affected if Excel 2002 SP3 is present but KB948989 security update is NOT installed
  5. Confirm security update KB943889 is installed (Excel 2003)
    Check Windows Update history, or view installed updates in Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or check registry for the specific KB patch
    Affected if Excel 2003 SP2 is present but KB943889 security update is NOT installed

Environment is affected if Excel 2002 (below SP3) or Excel 2003 (below SP2) is installed without the corresponding security update KB948989 or KB943889.

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 updates KB948989 and KB943889 for Excel 2002 and 2003 respectively, and enforce policies prohibiting opening of untrusted or unsolicited Excel attachments from external sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft Office 2007 or later (ensure updated with latest service packs and security patches)

  1. Check if the system has Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3 or Excel 2003 SP2 installed
  2. Apply Microsoft security bulletin MS07-025, which addresses this vulnerability in Excel 2002 and Excel 2003
  3. Alternatively, upgrade to a newer version of Microsoft Office that is still supported
  4. Ensure Microsoft Update is enabled and all critical security patches are applied
Caveat Older Office versions may have compatibility issues with files created in newer versions; test essential templates and macros before full deployment

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2007-3029 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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