dbcve.org
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2008-3020

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 2000 SP3 and XP SP3; Office Converter Pack; and Works 8 do not properly parse the length of a BMP file, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted BMP file, aka the "Malformed BMP Filter 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 buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Office's BMP file parsing filter. The application fails to properly validate the length field in BMP file headers, allowing an attacker to craft a malformed BMP file that overflows a buffer and achieves remote code execution when opened by a victim.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS08-044) to patch the vulnerable BMP filter, or upgrade to unaffected Office versions. Until patched, advise users not to open BMP files from untrusted sources.

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= xp
Office Converter PackApplication
Affected:all versions
WorksApplication
Affected:= 8.0

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. Check Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office application (such as Word or Excel), go to Help > About, or run 'winword /?' from command prompt to display version information
    Affected if Version is 2000, 2003, or XP (including versions labeled as 2002)
  2. Check Microsoft Works version
    Open Microsoft Works, navigate to Help > About, or check the installed program version in Add/Remove Programs
    Affected if Version is 8.0
  3. Check for Microsoft Office Converter Pack
    Check Add/Remove Programs or Program Files for the presence of Microsoft Office Converter Pack installation
    Affected if Converter Pack is installed (all versions are affected)
  4. Identify vulnerable BMP filter component
    Check for the presence of the BMP image filter DLL in the Office installation directory (typically Office10 for XP, Office11 for 2003, Office9 for 2000)
    Affected if The BMP filter DLL exists and the Office version is in the affected range (2000, 2003, XP)
  5. Verify vulnerability applicability
    Confirm that the system uses the built-in BMP file parsing feature in affected Office applications
    Affected if User opens BMP files directly in Office applications and the installed version matches 2000, 2003, or XP, or if Works 8.0 or Converter Pack is present

The environment is affected if Microsoft Office 2000, XP (2002), or 2003, Microsoft Works 8.0, or any version of Microsoft Office Converter Pack is installed, as these contain the vulnerable BMP file parsing filter.

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 Microsoft security updates (MS08-044) to patch the vulnerable BMP filter, or upgrade to unaffected Office versions. Until patched, advise users not to open BMP files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to a currently supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or Office 2019) or migrate to Microsoft 365 cloud-based productivity suite.

  1. Identify all systems running the affected Microsoft Office versions (2000, 2003, XP), Office Converter Pack, or Works 8.
  2. Since these products are no longer supported by Microsoft, the primary recommendation is to upgrade to a currently supported Microsoft Office version or Microsoft 365.
  3. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, check Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-044 for the original security update that addressed this vulnerability in 2008.
  4. Ensure antivirus/anti-malware solutions are active and signatures are up-to-date to detect malicious BMP files.
  5. Implement network-level filtering to block suspicious file attachments, especially BMP files from untrusted sources.
  6. Educate users about the risks of opening unsolicited file attachments, particularly image files from unknown sources.
Caveat Legacy Office documents, macros, and custom templates may require testing or migration when moving to newer Office versions; some legacy file formats may have limited support in modern Office.

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-3020 — 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-2008-3020 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