dbcve.org
OpenofficeApplication · Apache

CVE-2009-3301

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-02-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.2.0 or later.
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
Integer underflow in filter/ww8/ww8par2.cxx in OpenOffice.org (OOo) before 3.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted sprmTDefTable table property modifier in a Word document.

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

Integer underflow vulnerability in OpenOffice.org's Word document parser (filter/ww8/ww8par2.cxx) when processing the sprmTDefTable table property modifier. This allows heap corruption via crafted table properties in malicious .doc files, potentially enabling remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenOffice.org 3.2 or later to patch the vulnerability; avoid opening untrusted Word documents until patched.

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
OpenofficeApplication
Affected:< 3.2.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.04= 8.10= 9.04= 9.10
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 5.0

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 OpenOffice version
    Run 'rpm -q openoffice.org-core' or 'dpkg -l | grep openoffice' (Debian/Ubuntu) to retrieve the installed package version number
    Affected if The version number is lower than 3.2.0 (e.g., 3.1.x, 3.0.x, 2.x series)
  2. Confirm package name matches vulnerable products
    Verify the installed package is from Apache OpenOffice, Ubuntu, or Debian distributions listed in the affected versions
    Affected if The installed package is from the affected vendors and the version is in the vulnerable range
  3. Check Word document filter component exists
    Verify the file filter/ww8/ww8par2.cxx or corresponding binary component is present in the OpenOffice installation directory (typically /usr/lib/openoffice or /opt/openoffice)
    Affected if The ww8 Word parser component is present and functional
  4. Determine if user opens .doc files with OpenOffice
    Review whether users in the environment use OpenOffice to open Microsoft Word (.doc) documents, as the vulnerability is triggered during .doc file parsing
    Affected if Users process .doc files through OpenOffice's Word document parser

The environment is affected if OpenOffice version is below 3.2.0 and users open malicious .doc files using the built-in Word document parser.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.2.0 or later
Fixed in 3.2.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenOffice.org 3.2 or later to patch the vulnerability; avoid opening untrusted Word documents until patched.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenOffice 3.2.0 or later

  1. Check current OpenOffice version by running 'soffice --version' or through the Help > About menu
  2. For Ubuntu/Debian systems, run 'sudo apt-get update' then 'sudo apt-get upgrade openoffice.org' or 'sudo apt-get install openoffice.org=1:3.2.0-1'
  3. Alternatively, download OpenOffice 3.2.0 or later from the official Apache OpenOffice website at https://www.openoffice.org/download/
  4. For enterprise deployments, obtain the fixed package from your Linux distribution's security repository
  5. Close any running OpenOffice instances before upgrading
  6. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed by checking 'soffice --version'
Caveat OpenOffice 3.2.0 includes feature changes from earlier versions; test critical document workflows before mass deployment

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

Fix this in Openoffice Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2009-3301 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
  • 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