CVE-2009-0088
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 · uneditedThe WordPerfect 6.x Converter (WPFT632.CNV, 1998.1.27.0) in Microsoft Office Word 2000 SP3 and Microsoft Office Converter Pack does not properly validate the length of an unspecified string, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted WordPerfect 6.x file, related to an unspecified counter and control structures on the stack, aka "Word 2000 WordPerfect 6.x Converter Stack Corruption 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 confidenceThe WordPerfect 6.x Converter (WPFT632.CNV) in Microsoft Office Word 2000 SP3 and Microsoft Office Converter Pack fails to properly validate string length when parsing crafted WordPerfect 6.x files. This insufficient boundary checking corrupts stack memory by overwriting counter and control structures, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted .wpd file.
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= 2003= 2000= 2002all versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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.
-
Check installed Microsoft Office Word versionOpen Word, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Word, or run 'winword.exe /?' from command prompt to see version. Alternatively, check registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\<version>\Word\InstallRootAffected if Version is 2000 (9.0) or 2002 (10.0)
-
Check for Microsoft Office Converter Pack 2003Check registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\Converter\InstallDir or look for Converter Pack installation folder. Verify file version of WPFT632.CNV if foundAffected if Converter Pack 2003 is installed
-
Locate the WPFT632.CNV converter fileSearch system for WPFT632.CNV file. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv\ or Office installation converters folder. Right-click file > Properties > Details to see version infoAffected if WPFT632.CNV file exists on the system
-
Verify Office service pack level (for Word 2000)In Word 2000, go to Help > About > check if it says 'Service Pack 3' or run 'winword.exe' and check version in application. Registry: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\InstallRootAffected if Word 2000 is installed and service pack is lower than SP3
User is affected if Microsoft Office Word 2000 (any SP), Word 2002, or Office Converter Pack 2003 is installed with the WPFT632.CNV converter present on the system.
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 for affected Office products; until patched, avoid opening WordPerfect 6.x files from untrusted sources or disable the WPFT632.CNV converter.
Microsoft Office 2019 or Microsoft 365 (current supported versions)
- 1. Discontinue use of affected Microsoft Office products (Word 2000, Word 2002, Office Converter Pack 2003) as they are end-of-life and no longer receive security updates.
- 2. Upgrade to a currently supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or Office 2019) which does not contain the vulnerable WordPerfect 6.x converter component or has the vulnerability patched.
- 3. If upgrade is not immediately possible, verify that Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-009 (released April 2009) has been applied, which addresses this specific vulnerability.
- 4. Implement additional network-level controls to block WordPerfect 6.x files (.wpd) from untrusted sources until the upgrade is completed.
- 5. Train users on the risks of opening files from untrusted sources, particularly legacy file formats like WordPerfect.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-0088 — 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-2009-0088 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