CVE-2008-0121
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 · uneditedA "memory calculation error" in Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2003 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PowerPoint file with an invalid picture index that triggers memory corruption, aka "Memory Calculation 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 · moderate confidenceA memory calculation error in Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2003 allows remote code execution through a specially crafted PowerPoint file containing an invalid picture index that triggers heap memory corruption, enabling arbitrary code execution by the attacker.
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= 2003CVSS 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 if PowerPoint Viewer 2003 is installedCheck the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel under 'Programs and Features' or use 'wmic product get name,version' command to list installed Microsoft Office componentsAffected if Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003 appears in the installed programs list
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Confirm the exact version of PowerPoint ViewerNavigate to the PowerPoint Viewer installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\) and right-click on PPTVIEW.exe to select Properties, then check the Details tab for version informationAffected if The version listed is exactly 2003 (build numbers may vary but the product is the 2003 version)
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Verify the vulnerability trigger conditionThe flaw is triggered when opening a specially crafted PowerPoint file containing an invalid picture index. There is no manual configuration check; the vulnerability exists in the parsing logic of the viewer when processing malformed filesAffected if PowerPoint Viewer 2003 is used to open a malicious PowerPoint file with an invalid picture index that triggers heap corruption
A user is affected if Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003 is installed and is used to open specially crafted PowerPoint files, as the memory corruption vulnerability exists in the viewer application itself when processing malformed picture indices.
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.
From vendor dataApply Microsoft security updates for PowerPoint Viewer 2003, or upgrade to a supported PowerPoint viewer version, and implement controls to prevent opening untrusted PowerPoint files from unknown sources.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-0121 — 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-2008-0121 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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- 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
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