CVE-2009-1533
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in the Works for Windows document converters in Microsoft Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP3, Office 2007 SP1, and Works 8.5 and 9 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Works .wps file that triggers memory corruption, aka "File Converter 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 confidenceBuffer overflow in Microsoft Works document converters allows remote code execution via a specially crafted .wps file. The vulnerability affects Office 2000 through 2007 SP1 and Works 8.5/9, where parsing of malicious .wps files triggers memory corruption that can be leveraged for arbitrary code execution.
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= 2003= sp3= 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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Identify installed Microsoft Office versionOpen any Office application, go to Help > About, or run 'winword.exe /?' from command prompt to display version information. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office entries.Affected if Version is 2000, 2003, or XP with Service Pack 3 installed
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Identify installed Microsoft Works versionOpen Works from Start menu, or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Works entries with version 8.5 or 9.0.Affected if Version is 8.5 or 9.0 installed
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Verify Works converter add-in is presentCheck for the existence of the Works converter DLL ( wkcvq30.dll or wkssuite.dll ) in the Office conversion folder, typically located at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv\ or check registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths for converter components.Affected if Works document converter DLLs are present in the Office conversion directory
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Confirm .wps file handler is registeredSearch for .wps file extension association in Windows Explorer: right-click any .wps file > Properties > Opens with, or check registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.wps for the associated handler.Affected if System has .wps file type associated with Microsoft Works Converter or Office converter components
A user is affected if they have Office 2000, 2003, or XP SP3, or Works 8.5 or 9.0 installed, AND the Works document converter component is present and registered to handle .wps 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.
From vendor dataApply Microsoft security updates MS09-027 which addresses this vulnerability, or restrict handling of untrusted .wps files and disable the Works converter add-in where possible.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-1533 — 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-2009-1533 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