CVE-2009-3135
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office Word 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP3, Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac, Open XML File Format Converter for Mac, Office Word Viewer 2003 SP3, and Office Word Viewer allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Word document with a malformed File Information Block (FIB) structure, aka "Microsoft Office Word File Information 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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Office Word parsing malformed File Information Block (FIB) structures in Word documents. Successful exploitation allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening specially crafted malicious Word files.
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= 2004= 2008= 2002= 2003all versions= 2003all versionsCVSS 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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Check Microsoft Office Word versionOpen Word, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Word, or check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Word\InstallRootAffected if Version is 2002 (10), 2003 (11), 2004 (11 for Mac), or 2008 (12 for Mac)
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Check Microsoft Office suite versionOpen any Office application, go to Help > About, or check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Common\InstallRootAffected if Office suite version is 2004 or 2008 for Mac
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Check if Microsoft Office Word Viewer is installedCheck registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Word\Viewer or look for WordViewer.exe in Program FilesAffected if Word Viewer is installed (any version)
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Check if Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter is installedCheck registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Open XML File Format Converter or look for Oxfscnv.exeAffected if Open Xml File Format Converter is installed (any version)
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Verify installed programs listOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office Word entriesAffected if Any affected version listed in installed programs
A user is affected if they have Microsoft Office Word 2002/2003, Office 2004/2008, Word Viewer (any version), or Open XML File Format Converter installed, since the vulnerability triggers when opening a specially crafted Word file.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply Microsoft security updates for affected Office products; avoid opening Word documents from untrusted sources; deploy antivirus/malware detection for email attachments.
Apply Microsoft Security Update MS09-073 (KB957338) for affected Office versions; alternatively, upgrade to Office 2007 or Office 2010 which are not affected by this vulnerability
- 1. Identify the exact installed version of Microsoft Office (Word) or Office Word Viewer by opening the application, clicking Help, and selecting About Microsoft Office Word or similar.
- 2. For Microsoft Office Word 2002, apply security update 957338 (MS09-073) from Microsoft Update or the Microsoft Download Center.
- 3. For Microsoft Office Word 2003, apply security update 957338 (MS09-073) from Microsoft Update or the Microsoft Download Center.
- 4. For Office 2004 for Mac and Office 2008 for Mac, apply the corresponding security update from Microsoft or consider upgrading to a newer Office version.
- 5. For Open XML File Format Converter for Mac, apply the available security update.
- 6. For Office Word Viewer 2003, apply security update 957338 (MS09-073) or upgrade to Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.
- 7. After patching, restart any Office applications and verify the update was installed successfully via Windows Update history or the Add/Remove Programs list.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-3135 — 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-2009-3135 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