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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0261

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 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 MDXSET record is broken up into several records," aka "Microsoft Office Excel MDXSET 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 2007 when parsing MDXSET records in crafted spreadsheets. The vulnerability occurs when a MDXSET record is broken into several records, causing a heap overflow that can be exploited for remote code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-038 (KB2251399) which addresses this vulnerability, or upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office. Disable macro execution and restrict opening of untrusted Excel files as a defense-in-depth measure.

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 File > Help, or run 'winver' or check Programs and Features to find the Excel version
    Affected if Version is 2002, 2003, or 2007 (all affected)
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Check Programs and Features or run 'winver' to find the Office version
    Affected if Version is 2004 or 2008 (Mac versions are affected)
  3. Check for Office Compatibility Pack
    Check installed programs for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats'
    Affected if Compatibility Pack version is 2007 (affected)
  4. Check for Excel Viewer
    Check installed programs for 'Microsoft Office Excel Viewer'
    Affected if Any version of Excel Viewer is installed (all versions affected)
  5. Check for Open Xml File Format Converter
    Check installed programs for 'Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter'
    Affected if Any version is installed (all versions affected)

You are affected if any of the following are true: Excel 2002/2003/2007 is installed, Office 2004/2008 is installed, Office Compatibility Pack 2007 is installed, Excel Viewer of any version is installed, or Open XML File Format Converter of any version is installed, AND you open untrusted Excel files.

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 MS10-038 (KB2251399) which addresses this vulnerability, or upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office. Disable macro execution and restrict opening of untrusted Excel files as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 or later with all security updates applied, or migrate to Microsoft 365 for continuous security support

  1. Check for and install the relevant Microsoft Security Bulletin for this vulnerability (typically released around March 2010 for Excel MDXSET record vulnerabilities)
  2. Verify the patch is installed by checking Windows Update history or the installed updates list
  3. Ensure Microsoft Office is updated to a supported version with all subsequent security updates applied
  4. If running outdated Office versions (2004, 2007, 2008), consider migrating to a supported Microsoft 365 subscription or newer Office version to receive ongoing security support
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2004/2008 (Mac) may require file format changes; legacy Excel macros and add-ins may require updates

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

Fix this in Excel 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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

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-2010-0261 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