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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2009-0565

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
Buffer overflow in Microsoft Office Word 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, and 2007 SP1 and SP2; Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 and 2008; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1 and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Word document with a malformed record that triggers memory corruption, aka "Word Buffer Overflow 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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Office Word (versions 2000 SP3 through 2007 SP2, plus Mac editions) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted Word document containing a malformed record that triggers memory corruption.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for CVE-2009-0565 to all affected Office installations; until patched, warn users against opening Word documents from untrusted sources and consider blocking .doc attachments at email gateways.

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
Office Compatibility Pack For Word Excel Ppt 2007Application
Affected:all versions
Office WordApplication
Affected:= 2000= 2002= 2003= 2007
Office Word ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions= 2003
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. Check Microsoft Office Word version
    Open Word, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Word. Alternatively, check via Control Panel > Programs and Features > Microsoft Office Word entry version column.
    Affected if Version displayed is 2000, 2002, 2003, or 2007 (or Mac editions 2004/2008)
  2. Check Word Viewer installation
    Look in Programs and Features for 'Microsoft Office Word Viewer' or search for WINWORD.EXE in the Office folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX)
    Affected if Word Viewer is installed (all versions affected)
  3. Check Office Compatibility Pack
    Look in Programs and Features for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats'
    Affected if Compatibility Pack is installed (all versions affected)
  4. Check Open XML File Format Converter
    Look in Programs and Features for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter for Mac' or similar entry
    Affected if Open XML File Format Converter is installed (all versions affected)
  5. Verify patch status
    Open Windows Update, check for installed updates, or review security bulletin MS09-009 (for CVE-2009-0565). The patch is typically listed as a security update for Microsoft Office Word.
    Affected if The specific security update for CVE-2009-0565 is NOT installed

If any affected Office Word version (2000/2002/2003/2007), Word Viewer, Compatibility Pack, or Open XML Converter is installed AND the CVE-2009-0565 security patch is not applied, the environment is vulnerable when processing Word documents.

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

Apply Microsoft security patches for CVE-2009-0565 to all affected Office installations; until patched, warn users against opening Word documents from untrusted sources and consider blocking .doc attachments at email gateways.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 or later, which includes the security fix for this vulnerability

  1. Identify all systems running affected Microsoft Office versions (Word 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2007 SP1/SP2, Office for Mac 2004/2008, Open XML File Format Converter for Mac, Office Compatibility Pack SP1/SP2)
  2. Prioritize remediation based on exposure to untrusted Word documents
  3. Obtain and apply the official Microsoft security update for this vulnerability (MS09-068) if available for your specific Office version
  4. If patches are no longer available for your Office version, upgrade to a supported Microsoft Office version
  5. Verify the update was successfully applied
Caveat Older Office documents and macros may require migration/testing; ensure compatibility with the new Office version before broad deployment

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2009-0565 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