CVE-2008-0103
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 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP2, and Office 2004 for Mac allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an Office document that contains a malformed object, related to a "memory handling error," aka "Microsoft Office Execution Jump Vulnerability."
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 confidenceMemory handling error in Microsoft Office allows remote code execution via malformed Office documents containing specially crafted objects. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of malformed objects within Office file formats, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited to run arbitrary code.
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= 2000= 2003= 2004= 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Microsoft Office versionOpen any Office application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), go to Help > About, or on Windows use Control Panel > Programs and Features to find the installed Microsoft Office versionAffected if The installed version is Microsoft Office 2000, 2003, 2004 (Mac), or XP (2002)
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Confirm Office component versionIn the Office application, check the exact version number in Help > About dialog, noting the full version string (e.g., 9.0 for Office 2000, 10.0 for XP, 11.0 for 2003)Affected if Version matches 9.0 (Office 2000), 10.0 (Office XP), 11.0 (Office 2003), or 12.0 (Office 2004 for Mac)
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Verify patch statusCheck Windows Update history or the installed updates list for security update MS08-014 or subsequent Office security patchesAffected if MS08-014 or later Office security updates are NOT installed, leaving the memory handling vulnerability unpatched
A user is affected if they have Microsoft Office 2000, 2003, 2004, or XP installed WITHOUT the MS08-014 or subsequent security patches applied, and they open malformed Office documents from untrusted sources.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply Microsoft security patches for affected Office versions (MS08-014 or subsequent updates). Until patches are applied, disable active content filtering and avoid opening untrusted Office documents from unknown sources.
Office 2019, Office 2021, or Microsoft 365 (subscription)
- 1. Identify all systems running Microsoft Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP2, or Office 2004 for Mac
- 2. Back up all critical Office documents and configurations
- 3. Upgrade to a supported Microsoft Office version such as Office 2019, Office 2021, or Microsoft 365
- 4. Verify that all workstations have the latest security updates applied after upgrade
- 5. Test that business-critical documents and workflows function correctly in the new Office version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-0103 — 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-2008-0103 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
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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