dbcve.org
OpenofficeApplication · Apache

CVE-2009-3302

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
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 sprmTSetBrc table property modifier in a Word document, related to a "boundary error flaw."

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

A boundary error flaw exists in the Word document filter (ww8par2.cxx) of OpenOffice.org versions before 3.2. The vulnerability is triggered by a specially crafted Word document containing a malformed sprmTSetBrc table property modifier, which can cause memory corruption leading to application crash or potentially arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenOffice.org 3.2 or later to obtain the patched version. Until upgrade is possible, avoid opening Word documents from untrusted sources and ensure antivirus scanning is enabled.

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. Verify OpenOffice.org is installed
    Check for the presence of OpenOffice on the system. On Linux, run 'dpkg -l | grep -i openoffice' or 'rpm -qa | grep -i openoffice' depending on package manager. On Windows, check Program Files for OpenOffice installation directories.
    Affected if OpenOffice.org is not found on the system, then this CVE does not apply.
  2. Determine installed OpenOffice version
    Run 'openoffice --version' or 'soffice --version' from command line. Alternatively, check the version through the application's Help > About menu if GUI access is available.
    Affected if Version is blank, unknown, or reports a version earlier than 3.2.0.
  3. Confirm version falls within affected range
    Compare the installed version number against the affected range: Apache OpenOffice versions before 3.2.0 are vulnerable. If your version starts with 3.0, 3.1, or any 3.x version below 3.2.0, you are within the affected range.
    Affected if Installed version is 3.0.x, 3.1.x, or any version between 1.0 and 3.1.x.
  4. Identify Word document processing usage
    Check if the system or users routinely open Word documents (.doc, .docx) using OpenOffice Writer. Review file association settings or user workflows that involve opening Word files with OpenOffice.
    Affected if Users open Word documents using OpenOffice Writer, and the OpenOffice version is vulnerable.

If OpenOffice.org is installed with a version lower than 3.2.0 and users process Word documents with it, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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 obtain the patched version. Until upgrade is possible, avoid opening Word documents from untrusted sources and ensure antivirus scanning is enabled.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenOffice 3.2.0 or later (ideally the latest Apache OpenOffice 4.x series for ongoing security support)

  1. Check the current OpenOffice version installed (e.g., 'rpm -qa | grep openoffice' or 'dpkg -l | grep openoffice' or via Help > About in the GUI)
  2. For Debian/Ubuntu systems: Run 'sudo apt-get update' followed by 'sudo apt-get install openoffice.org' to upgrade to the available fixed version
  3. For RPM-based systems: Download OpenOffice 3.2.0 or later from the official Apache OpenOffice archive (https://archive.apache.org/dist/openoffice/) and install using 'rpm -Uvh' or 'yum install'
  4. Ensure no OpenOffice processes are running during the upgrade
  5. After installation, verify the version matches 3.2.0 or higher using the methods in step 1
Caveat OpenOffice 3.2.0 is from 2009; if moving to modern 4.x, be aware of potential macro/extension compatibility differences and UI changes

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

Fix this in Openoffice Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2009-3302 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