dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0260

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
Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 SP1 and SP2; Office Excel Viewer SP1 and SP2; and Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1 and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet in which "a MDXTUPLE record is broken up into several records," aka "Microsoft Office Excel MDXTUPLE Record Heap Overflow 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

Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office Excel's parsing of MDXTUPLE records when a record is broken into multiple fragments. The vulnerability allows remote code execution through specially crafted Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx files), enabling attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-on user.

MitigationApply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-017 (or subsequent relevant patches) which addresses this vulnerability. Until patched, warn users against opening untrusted Excel attachments and consider disabling Excel's file preview handler in Outlook.

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. Check Microsoft Excel version on Windows
    Open Excel, go to File > Help, or run 'excel.exe' and check Help > About Microsoft Excel. Alternatively, check the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Excel\InstallRoot or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\{version}
    Affected if The installed version is 2002 (version 10), 2003 (version 11), or 2007 (version 12)
  2. Check Microsoft Office version on Windows
    Open any Office application, go to File > Help, or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Common\InstallRoot. Check version numbers: Office 2004 is version 11, Office 2008 is version 12, Office 2007 is version 12
    Affected if The installed Office version is 2004 (version 11), 2008 (version 12), or 2007 (version 12)
  3. Check Office Compatibility Pack version
    Look in Add/Remove Programs (appwiz.cpl) for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats' or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\CompatibilityPack\Install
    Affected if Office Compatibility Pack for 2007 is installed (any version)
  4. Check Microsoft Office Excel Viewer
    Look in Add/Remove Programs (appwiz.cpl) for 'Microsoft Office Excel Viewer' or check for ExcelView.exe in Program Files
    Affected if Excel Viewer is installed (any version, as all versions are affected)
  5. Check Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
    Check installed programs list for 'Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007' or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\12.0\Install
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2007 is installed with Excel Services enabled

If any of the following products are installed and unpatched: Excel 2002/2003/2007, Office 2004/2008/2007, Office Compatibility Pack 2007, Excel Viewer, SharePoint Server 2007, or Open XML File Format Converter, the environment is potentially affected by CVE-2010-0260.

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) which addresses this vulnerability. Until patched, warn users against opening untrusted Excel attachments and consider disabling Excel's file preview handler in Outlook.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply MS10-017 security update for the specific product version, or upgrade to a currently supported Microsoft Office version

  1. Identify the exact installed version of Microsoft Office/Excel components (Excel 2002, 2003, 2007; Office 2004, 2008; Office Compatibility Pack 2007; Office Excel Viewer; Office Sharepoint Server 2007; Open XML File Format Converter)
  2. Download and apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-017, which addresses CVE-2010-0260 for the affected products
  3. Alternatively, upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office that includes the security fix
Caveat Legacy Office versions (2004, 2008, XP/2002) are no longer supported; upgrading to newer Office versions may require license procurement and file format compatibility considerations

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2010-0260 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