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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0257

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-03-10
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 does not properly parse the Excel file format, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet, aka "Microsoft Office Excel Record 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 2002 SP3 contains a memory corruption vulnerability in its file format parser. When processing a specially crafted Excel spreadsheet containing malformed record structures, the application fails to properly handle memory allocation, allowing an attacker to overwrite memory and execute arbitrary code with the user's privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-017 (or subsequent relevant patches) to update Excel 2002 to a patched version, or upgrade to a later supported Office version. Until patches are applied, instruct users not to open 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
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003= 2007
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004= 2008
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 2007
Office Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2007
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 Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel, go to Help > About Microsoft Excel, or check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Excel\InstallRoot
    Affected if Version displayed is 2002, 2003, or 2007 (or build numbers below the patched versions)
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\ProductReleaseIDs or open winword.exe, go to Help > About Microsoft Word for cross-application Office version
    Affected if Office version is 2004 or 2008 (Mac) with Excel component present
  3. Check for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
    Verify existence of file Excelcnv.exe in Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 or check registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Converters
    Affected if Compatibility Pack version 2007 is installed
  4. Check for Microsoft Office Excel Viewer
    Verify existence of ExcelView.exe in Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office, or check registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Viewer
    Affected if Any version of Excel Viewer is installed
  5. Check Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
    Check registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\12.0 or verify Excel Services component installation
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2007 with Excel Services is installed

The system is affected if any Excel 2002/2003/7, Office 2004/2008, Compatibility Pack 2007, Excel Viewer, SharePoint Server 2007, or Open XML File Format Converter is installed without the MS10-017 patch applied.

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 Bulletin MS10-017 (or subsequent relevant patches) to update Excel 2002 to a patched version, or upgrade to a later supported Office version. Until patches are applied, instruct users not to open untrusted Excel attachments.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 2010 or later (or latest available supported version for each product line)

  1. Identify all systems running affected Microsoft Office Excel, Office, or related products
  2. For Excel 2002 SP3: Apply MS10-017 patch (KB980150) or upgrade to a supported version
  3. For Excel 2003: Apply MS10-017 patch (KB980150) or upgrade to Excel 2007 SP2 or later
  4. For Excel 2007: Apply MS10-017 patch (KB980150) or upgrade to Excel 2010
  5. For Office 2004/2008 (Mac): Apply corresponding security updates or upgrade to Office 2008 SP4/2011
  6. For Office Compatibility Pack 2007: Apply MS10-017 patch
  7. For Office Sharepoint Server 2007: Apply MS10-017 patch for Excel Services
  8. For Open Xml File Format Converter: Apply available security updates
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2007 to Office 2010 may require file format migration; some older macros and add-ins may require updates or replacement

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

Fix this in Excel 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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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2010-0257 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