CVE-2008-1091
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 Word in Office 2000 and XP SP3, 2003 SP2 and SP3, and 2007 Office System SP1 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file with a malformed string that triggers a "memory calculation error" and a heap-based buffer overflow, aka "Object Parsing 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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Word's RTF parsing functionality allows remote code execution via malformed RTF files containing specially crafted strings that trigger a memory calculation error during object parsing.
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= 2007= 2007_sp1= 2008= xpall versions= 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.
-
Verify Microsoft Word installationCheck if Microsoft Word is installed on the system via Add/Remove Programs or the program files directoryAffected if Word is not installed, the vulnerability does not apply
-
Determine installed Word versionOpen Word, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Word, or check the version in the Windows registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Word\InstallRootAffected if The version is 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2007_sp1, 2008, or xp - compare your exact build number to the affected version list
-
Confirm Word Viewer is not in useCheck if Microsoft Word Viewer 2003 is installed, which is also affectedAffected if Word Viewer 2003 is installed and unpatched
-
Verify MS08-026 update statusCheck Windows Update history or the installed updates list for security update KB950627 (MS08-026)Affected if The MS08-026 security update is not listed as installed, meaning the vulnerability remains unpatched
If Microsoft Word, Word Viewer, or the Office Compatibility Pack is installed with an affected version and the MS08-026 security update has not been applied, the system is vulnerable to RTF parsing exploitation.
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 updates (MS08-026) to all affected Office installations and consider disabling RTF file handling at the email gateway or restricting RTF attachments until patches are fully deployed.
Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 or later, or migrate to Microsoft 365
- Locate and download the security update MS08-026 from the Microsoft Download Center or through Windows Update
- For Office 2000: Apply the MS08-026 patch; if not available, upgrade to a supported Office version as Office 2000 is end-of-life
- For Office XP: Apply MS08-026 patch (KB950240)
- For Office 2003 SP2/SP3: Apply MS08-026 patch (KB950243)
- For Office 2007 SP1 and earlier: Apply MS08-026 patch (KB950248)
- For Office Compatibility Pack (all versions): Apply MS08-026 patch (KB954644)
- For Word Viewer 2003: Apply MS08-026 patch (KB950224)
- Restart the computer after applying the update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-1091 — 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-2008-1091 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
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.
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