CVE-2010-0032
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 · uneditedUse-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PowerPoint document, aka "OEPlaceholderAtom Use After Free 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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint's OEPlaceholderAtom handling allows remote code execution when users open specially crafted malicious PowerPoint files. The vulnerability affects PowerPoint 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP3.
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= 2002= 2003CVSS 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.
-
Identify installed PowerPoint versionOpen PowerPoint, click Help menu, select About Microsoft Office PowerPoint. Alternatively, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate Microsoft Office, and check the installed version.Affected if Version shows PowerPoint 2002 or PowerPoint 2003 (any build)
-
Confirm Service Pack levelIn the About dialog, look for the build number and Service Pack notation. For PowerPoint 2002, SP3 appears as '2002 (3)' in the version string. For PowerPoint 2003, SP3 appears as '2003 (3)'.Affected if The version shows Service Pack 3 (SP3) for either PowerPoint 2002 or 2003
-
Check for security update MS10-004Open PowerPoint, go to Help > Check for Updates, or view installed updates in Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates. Search for security update MS10-004 or KB97517.Affected if MS10-004 (KB97517) is NOT installed on the system
User is affected if PowerPoint 2002 SP3 or PowerPoint 2003 SP3 is installed AND security update MS10-004 has not been applied.
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 update MS10-004 to patch the OEPlaceholderAtom use-after-free vulnerability, and enforce Protected View or document sandboxing for untrusted Office files.
Microsoft Office 2010 or later (Office 365 recommended for continuous security updates)
- 1. Verify the current Microsoft Office version by opening PowerPoint, clicking 'Help', and selecting 'About Microsoft Office PowerPoint'.
- 2. For PowerPoint 2002 (Office XP): Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-004 patch (KB977991) or upgrade to a supported Office version.
- 3. For PowerPoint 2003: Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-004 patch (KB982133) or upgrade to a supported Office version.
- 4. Download patches from the Microsoft Update Catalog or use Windows Update to receive security updates.
- 5. After patching, restart the application and verify the patch was applied by checking installed updates.
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
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-0032 — 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-2010-0032 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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