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Compatibility Pack Word Excel PowerpointApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2009-3128

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-11-11
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
Microsoft Office Excel 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP3, and Office Excel Viewer 2003 SP3, does not properly parse the Excel file format, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a spreadsheet with a malformed record object, aka "Excel SxView 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

Microsoft Office Excel contains a memory corruption vulnerability in its file format parser when handling malformed record objects in spreadsheet files. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious Excel files that trigger heap corruption, leading to arbitrary code execution with the user's privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS09-067 to all affected Excel installations, disable legacy file conversion features in Office, and implement email/web gateway filtering for untrusted Excel attachments.

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
Compatibility Pack Word Excel PowerpointApplication
Affected:= 2007
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003= 2007
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions= 2003
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004= 2008
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 installed Excel version
    On Windows: Check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\InstallRoot or use 'winword /?' command. On Mac: Check /Applications/Microsoft Excel.app/Contents/Info.plist for CFBundleShortVersionString
    Affected if Version is 2002 (10.x), 2003 (11.x), or 2007 (12.x)
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    On Windows: Check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\ProductReleaseIDs or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Common\InstallRoot. On Mac: Check /Applications/Microsoft Office {year}/Microsoft Word.app/Contents/Info.plist
    Affected if Version is 2004 (11.x), 2008 (12.x), or includes Excel 2007 (12.x)
  3. Check for Microsoft Compatibility Pack
    On Windows: Check registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\CompatibilityPack\InstallRoot or look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint' in Programs and Features
    Affected if Version is 2007 (12.x) or compatibility pack is installed regardless of version
  4. Check for Microsoft Excel Viewer
    On Windows: Check registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExcelViewer or look for 'Microsoft Excel Viewer' in Programs and Features. On Mac: Check /Applications/Microsoft Excel Viewer.app/
    Affected if Excel Viewer is installed (any version) - all versions are affected
  5. Check for Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter
    On Windows: Check registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Open XML File Format Converter or look for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter' in Programs and Features. On Mac: Check /Applications/Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter.app/
    Affected if Converter is installed (any version) - all versions are affected

Any installation of Excel 2002, 2003, or 2007; Office 2004 or 2008; Excel Viewer (any version); Compatibility Pack 2007; or Open XML File Format Converter (any version) is affected by this vulnerability when parsing malformed 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

Apply Microsoft security update MS09-067 to all affected Excel installations, disable legacy file conversion features in Office, and implement email/web gateway filtering for untrusted Excel attachments.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-067; for long-term resolution, upgrade to a currently supported Microsoft Office version (Office 2010 or later with active support)

  1. Obtain and install Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-067 from the Microsoft Update Catalog or through Windows Update. This patch addresses the Excel SxView Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2009-3128).
  2. For Excel 2002 systems: Ensure Excel 2002 SP3 is installed, then apply the MS09-067 security update.
  3. For Excel 2003 systems: Ensure Excel 2003 SP3 is installed, then apply the MS09-067 security update.
  4. For Excel 2007 systems: Apply the MS09-067 security update.
  5. For Excel Viewer (all versions): Upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office or Excel Viewer that has received security updates.
  6. For Office 2004 and 2008 (Mac): Apply the corresponding Mac security updates from Microsoft.
  7. For Open XML File Format Converter: Ensure you have the latest version with security patches applied.
  8. After patching, verify the update was successful via Windows Update or the Add/Remove Programs list.
Caveat MS09-067 is a security patch with minimal breaking changes; however, ensure compatibility testing with existing Excel templates and macros in business-critical workflows

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

Fix this in Compatibility Pack Word Excel Powerpoint 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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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-2009-3128 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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