dbcve.org
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system · Microsoft

CVE-2009-2528

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-10-14
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
GDI+ in Microsoft Office XP SP3 does not properly handle malformed objects in Office Art Property Tables, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Office document that 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 · moderate confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in GDI+ within Microsoft Office XP SP3. The vulnerability exists because GDI+ fails to properly validate malformed objects embedded in Office Art Property Tables. When a user opens a specially crafted Office document containing these malformed objects, it triggers memory corruption that can be exploited for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Office XP SP3 to patch the GDI+ vulnerability. Until patched, avoid opening Office documents from untrusted sources and consider restricting file types or using updated Office versions.

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
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions
.net FrameworkApplication
Affected:= 1.1= 2.0
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:= 6
Report ViewerApplication
Affected:= 2005= 2008
Sql ServerApplication
Affected:= 2005

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 if Office XP SP3 is installed
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\InstallRoot, or run 'reg query "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\InstallRoot" /v InstallRoot'
    Affected if The key exists and points to an Office XP installation path, indicating Office XP is present
  2. Confirm Office XP Service Pack level
    Run 'reg query "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\InstallRoot" /v Version' or check Windows Update history for Office XP SP3 updates
    Affected if Version shows a build prior to the patch date or SP3 is not listed in installed updates
  3. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
    Affected if Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008 is reported
  4. Verify GDI+ component version
    Locate gdiplus.dll in C:\Windows\System32 (for 32-bit) or C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (for 64-bit), right-click and view Properties > Details to see File Version
    Affected if GDI+ version is earlier than the patched version released in MS09-062 (typically below 5.1.3102.1355)
  5. Check if Office file processing is common
    Review installed Office applications, check for Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint executables in Program Files, or query 'wmic product where "name like 'Microsoft Office%'" get name, version'
    Affected if Office XP applications are present and capable of opening .doc, .xls, or .ppt files containing Art Property Tables

If the system runs Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008 with Office XP SP3 installed and the GDI+ version is unpatched, the environment is vulnerable when processing Office documents from any source.

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 updates for Office XP SP3 to patch the GDI+ vulnerability. Until patched, avoid opening Office documents from untrusted sources and consider restricting file types or using updated Office versions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade from Office XP to a supported version such as Office 2007 or Office 2010; for Windows XP/2003, upgrade to a supported Windows version

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Update MS09-062 (GDI+ Vulnerability) which addresses CVE-2009-2528
  2. If running Office XP, ensure Service Pack 3 is installed, then apply the specific GDI+ security patch
  3. For Internet Explorer 6, ensure the Cumulative Security Update is applied
  4. For systems that cannot be patched, consider upgrading to a supported Office version (Office 2007 or later)
  5. Ensure Windows Update is configured and all security updates are applied
Caveat Office XP and Windows XP are end-of-life; upgrading may require migration planning and compatibility testing with legacy applications

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

Fix this in Windows 2003 Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2009-2528 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