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Office PowerpointApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2009-0227

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-05-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Stack-based buffer overflow in the PowerPoint 4.2 conversion filter (PP4X32.DLL) in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, and 2003 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large number of structures in sound data in a file that uses a PowerPoint 4.0 native file format, leading to memory corruption, aka "Legacy File Format Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2009-0222, CVE-2009-0223, CVE-2009-0226, 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 confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow in the PowerPoint 4.2 conversion filter (PP4X32.DLL) allows remote code execution when processing specially crafted PowerPoint 4.0 native format files with excessively large sound data structures, causing memory corruption.

MitigationDeploy Microsoft security patches for affected Office versions (2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3) and exercise caution with untrusted 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
Office PowerpointApplication
Affected:= 2000= 2002= 2003

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.

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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed PowerPoint version
    Check the PowerPoint executable version: right-click C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\POWERPNT.EXE (where XX is 9, 10, or 11 for Office 2000, 2002, 2003 respectively), select Properties, and view the Version tab. Alternatively, open PowerPoint and go to Help > About Microsoft PowerPoint.
    Affected if The version corresponds to Office PowerPoint 2000, 2002, or 2003.
  2. Locate the PP4X32.DLL file
    Search for PP4X32.DLL on the system using Windows Explorer search or the command: dir /s C:\PP4X32.DLL. The file is the PowerPoint 4.2 conversion filter.
    Affected if PP4X32.DLL exists on the system, indicating the PowerPoint 4.0 conversion filter is installed.
  3. Check if PowerPoint 4.0 import is available
    Open PowerPoint and attempt to open a PowerPoint 4.0 format file (.ppt) or check the File > Open dialog for PowerPoint 4.0 compatibility filters in the file type dropdown.
    Affected if The PowerPoint 4.0 conversion filter is active and can import legacy PowerPoint 4.0 files.
  4. Verify conversion filter registration
    Check the Windows Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Graphics Filters\Import\PP4X32 for presence of the filter registration, or use the PowerPoint Converter Collections dialog if accessible.
    Affected if The PP4X32 conversion filter is registered and available for processing PowerPoint 4.0 files.

A system is affected if it runs PowerPoint 2000, 2002, or 2003 AND has the PP4X32.DLL conversion filter installed/enabled for importing PowerPoint 4.0 native format files.

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

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Deploy Microsoft security patches for affected Office versions (2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3) and exercise caution with untrusted PowerPoint files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 2007 SP3 or later / Office 2010 / Office 365

  1. 1. Identify the current Microsoft Office PowerPoint version installed (2000, 2002, or 2003 SP3)
  2. 2. Backup all important PowerPoint files and Office settings
  3. 3. Obtain a supported, newer version of Microsoft Office (Office 2007 Service Pack 3 or later, Office 2010, or Office 365)
  4. 4. Uninstall the affected Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000/2002/2003 installation
  5. 5. Install the newer version of Microsoft Office
  6. 6. Verify the installation by opening PowerPoint and confirming PP4X32.DLL is no longer in use
  7. 7. Open existing PowerPoint 4.0 format files in the new version to confirm they convert correctly
Caveat Legacy PowerPoint 4.0 native file format support may differ; some old file converters are deprecated; ensure license availability for newer Office version

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

Fix this in Office Powerpoint Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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Scan for this in your stack

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

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-0227 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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