CVE-2009-0222
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 PowerPoint 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, and 2003 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted sound data in a file that uses a PowerPoint 4.0 native file format, leading to a "pointer overwrite" and memory corruption, aka "Legacy File Format Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2009-0223, CVE-2009-0226, CVE-2009-0227, and CVE-2009-1137.
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 PowerPoint versions 2000-2003 contain a vulnerability in parsing PowerPoint 4.0 native file format files with crafted sound data. The specially crafted sound data triggers a pointer overwrite vulnerability leading to memory corruption and allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.
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= 2000= 2002= 2003CVSS 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 installed PowerPoint version via Windows registryOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PowerPoint.Application\CurVer, or check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\PowerPoint\InstallRoot\VersionAffected if The version value shows 9.0 (PowerPoint 2000), 10.0 (PowerPoint 2002), or 11.0 (PowerPoint 2003)
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Check PowerPoint version via command lineRun `wmic product where "name like 'Microsoft Office PowerPoint%'" get version,name` or check Help > About Microsoft Office PowerPoint in the applicationAffected if The reported version is 9.0.0.x, 10.0.x.x, or 11.0.x.x corresponding to PowerPoint 2000, 2002, or 2003 respectively
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Verify PowerPoint is present on the systemCheck if PowerPoint.exe exists in the Office installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\, Office11\, etc.) or search for it using `where /r C:\Program Files PowerPoint.exe`Affected if PowerPoint.exe is found in Office10 (2002), Office11 (2003), or Office (2000) subdirectories
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Confirm vulnerability trigger conditionThe vulnerability is triggered when PowerPoint parses PowerPoint 4.0 native format files (.ppt) containing specially crafted sound data. No specific feature flag needs enabling - the parsing code is inherently vulnerable in these versions.Affected if A vulnerable PowerPoint version (2000, 2002, or 2003) is installed and the user opens a malicious PowerPoint 4.0 format file
The system is affected if Microsoft Office PowerPoint version 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 (corresponding to Office 2000, 2002, or 2003) is installed.
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 (MS09-017) to affected PowerPoint versions, or upgrade to newer Office versions. Avoid opening PowerPoint files from untrusted sources, especially legacy PowerPoint 4.0 format files.
Microsoft Office 2016 or later, or Microsoft 365
- 1. Identify all systems running Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000, 2002, or 2003.
- 2. Upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2016) which includes the security fix for this vulnerability.
- 3. Alternatively, if upgrading is not immediately feasible, apply the Microsoft security update MS09-017 if available for the specific PowerPoint version in use.
- 4. Verify that the upgrade or patch has been successfully applied.
- 5. Consider disabling the PowerPoint 4.0 native file format parser as an additional mitigation if supported by the version in use.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-0222 — 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-2009-0222 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data