CVE-2009-0224
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, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1 and SP2; PowerPoint Viewer 2003 and 2007 SP1 and SP2; PowerPoint in Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac and 2008 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Microsoft Works 8.5 and 9.0; and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1 and SP2 do not properly validate PowerPoint files, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via multiple crafted BuildList records that include ChartBuild containers, which triggers memory corruption, 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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft PowerPoint's parsing of BuildList records with ChartBuild containers allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted PowerPoint files.
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= 2007all versions= 2000= 2002= 2003= 2007= 2003= 2007all versions= 2004= 2008= 8.5= 9.0CVSS 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 versionOpen PowerPoint, go to Help > About Microsoft Office PowerPoint, or check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel for Microsoft Office PowerPoint entryAffected if Version listed is 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, or 2008 (any of the versions listed in affected products)
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Check for Office Compatibility PackOpen Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (or Programs and Features), look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats' or 'Microsoft Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007'Affected if This product is installed (all versions are affected per CVE data)
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Check for Powerpoint ViewerOpen Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, look for 'Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2003' or 'Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2007'Affected if Either viewer version is installed (both versions listed as affected)
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Check for Open XML File Format ConverterOpen Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, look for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter'Affected if This converter is installed (all versions are affected)
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Check for Microsoft WorksOpen Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, look for 'Microsoft Works 8.5' or 'Microsoft Works 9.0'Affected if Either version is installed (both listed as affected)
If any of the above products matching the specified versions is installed, the environment is potentially affected by this vulnerability when opening specially crafted PowerPoint files.
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 patches for this vulnerability (MS09-017), and implement user awareness training to avoid opening untrusted PowerPoint attachments.
Microsoft no longer supports these older Office products; consider upgrading to a supported version such as Microsoft 365 or Office 2019/2016
- Check Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-017 for the applicable security update for your specific product version
- For PowerPoint 2000/2002/2003/2007, apply the security update from Windows Update or Microsoft Update
- For PowerPoint Viewer 2003/2007, apply the security update from Windows Update
- For Office 2004 for Mac and 2008 for Mac, apply the security update from Microsoft or use Microsoft AutoUpdate
- For Open XML File Format Converter for Mac, apply the available security update
- For Microsoft Works 8.5 and 9.0, apply the security update from Windows Update
- For Office Compatibility Pack for Word/Excel/PowerPoint 2007, apply MS09-017
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-0224 — 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-2009-0224 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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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