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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2008-3006

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-08-12
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
Microsoft Office Excel 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP2 and SP3, and 2007 Gold and SP1; Office Excel Viewer 2003 Gold and SP3; Office Excel Viewer; Office Compatibility Pack 2007 Gold and SP1; Office SharePoint Server 2007 Gold and SP1; and Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac do not properly parse Country record values when loading Excel files, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Excel file, aka the "Excel Record 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 confidence

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel's parsing of Country record values within crafted .xls files. When Excel opens a malicious file with specially crafted Country record data, it fails to properly validate the record length or values, leading to heap-based buffer overflow that enables arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS08-057) to all affected Microsoft Office and Office component installations; alternatively, deploy Microsoft Update or use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to automate patch deployment.

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2000= 2003= 2007= xp= 2004= 2008
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 2007
Office Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:= 2003
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2007

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. Verify Microsoft Excel is installed
    Check for the presence of Excel.exe. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office[version]\EXCEL.EXE or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office[version]\EXCEL.EXE. Alternatively, check registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Application\CLSID to confirm Excel COM component registration.
    Affected if Excel is not installed on the system, the vulnerability does not apply.
  2. Determine installed Excel version number
    Right-click on EXCEL.EXE, select Properties, go to Details tab, and note the 'Product version' field. Or run 'excel.exe /?' from command line, or check registry value HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Application\CurVer for the version number.
    Affected if Product version is 9.0.x (Office 2000), 10.0.x (Office XP), 11.0.x (Office 2003/2004/2008), or 12.0.x (Office 2007/Excel Viewer 2003/Compatibility Pack 2007). These versions are within the affected range.
  3. Confirm SharePoint Server 2007 Excel Services presence
    On servers running SharePoint Server 2007, check if Excel Services is configured. Verify in Central Administration > Application Management > Manage service applications > Excel Services Application. Also check for ExcelServices.exe process running.
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2007 with Excel Services enabled is installed and the MS08-057 patch has not been applied.
  4. Verify MS08-057 security patch installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates. Search for security update KB954062 (for Office 2000/XP) or KB954061 (for Office 2003/2007). Alternatively, use 'wmic qfe list' command or check registry under HKLM\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for the corresponding KB entry.
    Affected if The specific KB patch (KB954062 or KB954061 depending on Office version) is NOT listed among installed updates. The system remains vulnerable.
  5. Check Excel file handling behavior (optional active check)
    Attempt to open a test .xls file in Excel while monitoring with Process Monitor (ProcMon) for any heap overflow indicators or异常 behavior. This is only feasible in a controlled test environment with a sample crafted file.
    Affected if Excel exhibits abnormal behavior or crashes when opening specially crafted Country record values in .xls files.

A system is affected if Microsoft Excel (versions 9.0 through 12.0) or Excel Services in SharePoint Server 2007 is installed AND the MS08-057 security patch (KB954061 or KB954062) is not present.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates (MS08-057) to all affected Microsoft Office and Office component installations; alternatively, deploy Microsoft Update or use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to automate patch deployment.

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2008-3006 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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