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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2008-4031

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-12-10
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 Word 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 Gold and SP1; Outlook 2007 Gold and SP1; Word Viewer 2003 Gold and SP3; Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Gold and SP1; Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed string in (1) an RTF file or (2) a rich text e-mail message, which triggers incorrect memory allocation and memory corruption, aka "Word RTF 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 confidence

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office's RTF parsing functionality. When processing a malformed string in an RTF file or rich text email message, the application incorrectly allocates memory, leading to heap corruption that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code with the user's privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches MS08-057 and MS08-058 (or subsequent relevant updates) to all affected Microsoft Office installations. Additionally, configure email gateways to block or sanitize RTF attachments and warn users not to open untrusted RTF documents.

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:= 2004= 2008
Office Compatibility Pack For Word Excel Ppt 2007Application
Affected:all versions
Office Word ViewerApplication
Affected:= 2003
Open Xml File Format ConverterApplication
Affected:all versions
WorksApplication
Affected:= 8.0
Office OutlookApplication
Affected:= 2007
Office WordApplication
Affected:= 2000= 2002= 2003= 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. Determine installed Microsoft Office Word version
    Open Word, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Word, or check the version in Add/Remove Programs. Alternatively, check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\<version>\Word\InstallRoot
    Affected if The installed version is 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, or 2008 (Mac) and lacks the MS08-057 patch
  2. Determine installed Microsoft Office Outlook version
    Open Outlook, go to Help > About Microsoft Outlook, or check Add/Remove Programs. Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\<version>\Outlook\InstallRoot
    Affected if The installed version is Outlook 2007 and lacks the MS08-058 patch
  3. Check for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
    Open Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (or Programs and Features). Look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats'
    Affected if The Compatibility Pack is installed without subsequent security updates applied after October 2008
  4. Verify if RTF file handling is active
    Check default file associations for .rtf files: right-click any RTF file > Properties > Opens with, or examine registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.rtf
    Affected if RTF files are associated with an affected Word or Office application version that is unpatched
  5. Check for Word Viewer or Works installations
    Check Add/Remove Programs for 'Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003' or 'Microsoft Works 8.0', or check corresponding registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    Affected if Word Viewer 2003 or Works 8.0 is installed without the security patch applied

A system is affected if any of the following unpatched products are installed: Office Word 2000/2002/2003/2004/2007/2008, Outlook 2007, Word Viewer 2003, Works 8.0, Office Compatibility Pack, or Open XML File Format Converter, and the system processes RTF files or email.

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 patches MS08-057 and MS08-058 (or subsequent relevant updates) to all affected Microsoft Office installations. Additionally, configure email gateways to block or sanitize RTF attachments and warn users not to open untrusted RTF documents.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 or later (for Windows) and Office 2011 or later (for Mac), with all current Service Packs applied. Alternatively, migrate to Microsoft 365 which receives automatic security updates.

  1. 1. Determine the currently installed Microsoft Office version on each affected system using Help > About in any Office application
  2. 2. For Microsoft Office Word 2000/2002/2003/2007: Apply the relevant Microsoft Security Update MS08-026 from May 2008, or upgrade to a later Service Pack
  3. 3. For Microsoft Office Outlook 2007: Apply MS08-026 or upgrade to Outlook 2007 Service Pack 2 or later
  4. 4. For Word Viewer 2003: Install the security update for Word Viewer or upgrade to a supported version
  5. 5. For Office Compatibility Pack: Apply the MS08-026 update or upgrade to Compatibility Pack Service Pack 2
  6. 6. For Office 2004/2008 for Mac: Apply the Apple security updates from 2008 or upgrade to Office 2011 or later for Mac
  7. 7. For Open XML File Format Converter for Mac: Apply the relevant Apple update
  8. 8. Restart all affected applications and systems after applying updates
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2000/2002/2003 to Office 2010+ may require file format conversion and users may need to retrain on new interface. Some legacy features or third-party add-ins may not be compatible with newer versions.

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
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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-2008-4031 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