Openoffice.orgApplication · Openoffice

CVE-2009-0201

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-09-02

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.1 or later.

See remediation →

100/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

Heap-based buffer overflow in OpenOffice.org (OOo) before 3.1.1 and StarOffice/StarSuite 7, 8, and 9 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified records in a crafted Word document, related to "table parsing."

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in OpenOffice.org and StarOffice/StarSuite's Word document parser, specifically in table parsing logic for unspecified records. Allows remote code execution via crafted Word documents.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 or later, or apply vendor patches for StarOffice/StarSuite versions 7-9. Avoid opening untrusted Word documents until patched.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Openoffice.orgApplication

Affected:<= 3.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1.5= 2.0= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.1= 2.2= 2.2.1

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Determine installed OpenOffice.org version

Run 'about' command in OpenOffice (Help > About) or check version via package manager (dpkg -l | grep openoffice, rpm -qa | grep openoffice, or 'soffice --version' command)

Affected if Version is 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 2.0, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, 2.1, 2.2, 2.2.1, or any 3.0.x or 3.1.x version (3.1 and below)
Determine installed StarOffice or StarSuite version

Check via registry, program files directory, or run 'staroffice --version' or 'star suite --version' if available

Affected if Version is StarOffice/StarSuite 7, 8, or 9 (any patch level)
Confirm Word document import filter is present

Check for Word filter functionality: in OpenOffice go to Tools > Options > Load/Save > File Formats and verify Microsoft Word is listed, or attempt to open a .doc file

Affected if The Word filter is loaded and functional (this is default behavior) - the vulnerability triggers when parsing malicious Word documents with this filter enabled

You are affected if you have OpenOffice.org version 3.1 or below (including all 1.1.x and 2.x versions listed) or StarOffice/StarSuite versions 7-9, and you use the Word document import feature to open .doc files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.1

Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 or later, or apply vendor patches for StarOffice/StarSuite versions 7-9. Avoid opening untrusted Word documents until patched.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 or later (Apache OpenOffice or LibreOffice as a maintained alternative)

1. Determine current OpenOffice.org version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About OpenOffice or checking the installed package
2. Download OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 or a later stable version from the official Apache OpenOffice website (openoffice.org) or your distribution's package repository
3. Close all OpenOffice applications before upgrading
4. Uninstall the existing OpenOffice.org installation via your system's package manager or the program's uninstaller
5. Install the downloaded OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 or later version
6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About OpenOffice to confirm the fix is applied
7. Exercise caution when opening untrusted Word documents from unknown sources

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

Fix this in Openoffice.org Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation3.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

11.0 hours of engineering $1,900

Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-0201 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-0201 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2009-0201?

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.

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 3.1 or later

Severity 9.3 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 6.7%

Affects: Openoffice.org

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Openoffice.org 11 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,900

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2009-0201 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References