CVE-2009-0097
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Office Visio 2002 SP2 and 2003 SP3 does not properly validate memory allocation for Visio files, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted file, aka "Memory 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 confidenceMicrosoft Office Visio 2002 SP2 and 2003 SP3 contain a memory corruption vulnerability due to improper validation of memory allocation when processing Visio files. A remote attacker can exploit this by tricking a user into opening a specially crafted malicious Visio file, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution with the victim's privileges.
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= 2002= 2003= 2007CVSS 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.
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Check if Visio is installedOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ and look for a key with DisplayName containing 'Visio', or check HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Visio\InstallRootAffected if No Visio installation found means this CVE does not apply to your system
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Determine installed Visio versionLocate the Visio executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\) and check its properties, or query the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Visio\InstallRoot\VersionAffected if Version cannot be determined or Visio executable not found
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Compare version against affected rangeReview the installed version number - Visio 2002 is version 10.x, Visio 2003 is version 11.x, Visio 2007 is version 12.xAffected if Installed version is 10.x (2002), 11.x (2003), or 12.x (2007)
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Confirm patch statusCheck if MS09-005 security update is installed by viewing installed updates in Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' commandAffected if The specific MS09-005 patch is NOT installed and your version falls within 2002/2003/2007
You are affected if Visio 2002, 2003, or 2007 is installed and the MS09-005 security update has not been applied.
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.
From vendor dataApply the relevant Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability (MS09-005). If patches are unavailable for these legacy versions, upgrade to a supported Visio version. Avoid opening Visio files from untrusted or unknown sources.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-0097 — 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-2009-0097 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
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- 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
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