dbcve.org
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2009-0560

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-06-10
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
Excel in Microsoft Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP3, and Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; Excel in 2007 Microsoft Office System SP1 and SP2; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 SP3; Microsoft Office Excel Viewer; and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1 and SP2 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Excel file with a malformed record object, aka "Field Sanitization 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 confidence

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel caused by insufficient field sanitization when processing malformed record objects in crafted Excel files. An attacker can exploit this by tricking a user into opening a specially crafted Excel file, allowing arbitrary code execution with the user's privileges.

MitigationDo not open Excel files from untrusted sources. Apply Microsoft security updates (MS09-021) to all affected Office installations. Consider deploying Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) as an additional defense-in-depth measure.

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004= 2008= xp
Office Compatibility Pack For Word Excel Ppt 2007Application
Affected:all versions
Office ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2000= 2003= 2007
Office Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions= 2003
Office Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2007
Open Xml File Format ConverterApplication
Affected:all versions

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 the installed Excel version
    Open Excel, go to Help > About Microsoft Excel, or check the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel. Alternatively, run 'winword /?' or check the Office installation directory version info.
    Affected if The version matches Microsoft Office Excel 2000, 2003, or 2007; or Microsoft Office 2004, 2008, or XP; or any version of Excel Viewer, Office Compatibility Pack, SharePoint Server 2007, or Open XML File Format Converter.
  2. Check if security update MS09-021 is installed
    Open Windows Update history or use the 'wmic qfe list' command in Command Prompt to view installed hotfixes. Look for KB969600 or KB969603 which correspond to MS09-021.
    Affected if The security update is NOT installed and the installed Excel/Office version is in the affected versions list.
  3. Verify Excel file handling behavior
    Attempt to open an unfamiliar or untrusted Excel file received from external sources. Monitor for unexpected application behavior, crashes, or prompts.
    Affected if Excel processes files without proper validation and exhibits anomalous behavior indicating the vulnerability may be present.

A user is affected if they have an unpatched installation of an affected Excel or Office version listed in the CVE, as the flaw triggers when opening specially crafted Excel 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

Do not open Excel files from untrusted sources. Apply Microsoft security updates (MS09-021) to all affected Office installations. Consider deploying Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) as an additional defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office Service Pack 3 with MS09-021 security update applied, or upgrade to Office 2010 or later

  1. 1. Identify the installed Microsoft Office version(s) and service pack level from 'Add or Remove Programs' or the application's 'About' dialog.
  2. 2. Navigate to the Microsoft Update Catalog or the specific Security Bulletin (MS09-021) page at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-021.
  3. 3. Locate the appropriate patch for your Office version: For Office XP SP3 apply KB969685; for Office 2003 SP3 apply KB969679; for Office 2007 SP1/SP2 apply KB969682.
  4. 4. For Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 apply KB969680; for Office Compatibility Pack apply KB969685.
  5. 5. Download and install the relevant patch through Microsoft Update or manually via the downloaded installer.
  6. 6. Restart all Office applications and verify the patch is installed by checking 'View Update History' in Microsoft Update.
Caveat Patches are cumulative; ensure compatibility with other installed Office updates; some enterprise deployments may require testing

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2009-0560 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