dbcve.org
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2008-3007

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-09-11
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
Argument injection vulnerability in a URI handler in Microsoft Office XP SP3, 2003 SP2 and SP3, 2007 Office System Gold and SP1, and Office OneNote 2007 Gold and SP1 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted onenote:// URL, aka "Uniform Resource Locator Validation Error 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 an argument injection vulnerability in the URI handler for the onenote:// URL scheme in Microsoft Office and OneNote. Attackers can craft malicious onenote:// URLs that inject arbitrary arguments, leading to arbitrary code execution on the vulnerable system. User interaction is required (clicking a malicious link).

MitigationApply the appropriate Microsoft security update (MS08-055) to patch the URI handler validation. If patches are unavailable for end-of-life products, consider upgrading to supported Office versions or implementing URL filtering/click-through protections as temporary mitigations.

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:= 2003= 2007= xp
Office OnenoteApplication
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. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\InstallRoot to find installed Office version
    Affected if Version shows 2003, 2007, or XP (any edition)
  2. Identify installed Microsoft OneNote version
    Check Programs and Features for OneNote entry, or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\OneNote\InstallRoot
    Affected if OneNote 2007 is installed
  3. Verify onenote:// protocol handler exists
    Check registry for HKCR\onenote\shell\open\command key - this registry path registers the URL protocol handler for onenote:// URLs
    Affected if The onenote protocol handler is registered in the registry (key exists)
  4. Confirm Office/OneNote is actually used
    Search for ONENOTE.EXE in Program Files or Program Files (x86) directories
    Affected if Onenote.exe binary is present on the system

Your environment is affected if Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, or XP, or OneNote 2007 is installed and the onenote:// protocol handler is registered, as these versions contain the vulnerable URI handler that does not properly validate arguments in onenote:// URLs.

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 the appropriate Microsoft security update (MS08-055) to patch the URI handler validation. If patches are unavailable for end-of-life products, consider upgrading to supported Office versions or implementing URL filtering/click-through protections as temporary mitigations.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2016 (any currently supported Office version)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running Microsoft Office XP, Office 2003, or Office 2007, as these versions are affected by CVE-2008-3007.
  2. 2. Uninstall the affected Microsoft Office installations from all vulnerable systems.
  3. 3. Install a currently supported version of Microsoft Office such as Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2016.
  4. 4. Ensure the new Office installation receives the latest security updates via Windows Update or your organization's patch management system.
  5. 5. Verify that the onenote:// URI handler is properly registered with the new Office installation.
Caveat Upgrading from Office XP/2003/2007 may require file format migration, macro/script adjustments, and user training for the updated interface; legacy plugins may need replacement.

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-3007 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2008-3007 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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