dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0262

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 2007 SP1 and SP2 and Office 2004 for Mac do not properly parse the Excel file format, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet that triggers access of an uninitialized stack variable, aka "Microsoft Office Excel FNGROUPNAME Record Uninitialized Memory 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

A vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel's parsing of the FNGROUPNAME record in spreadsheet files allows remote code execution via an uninitialized stack variable when users open specially crafted Excel files. The improper parsing of the Excel file format enables memory corruption that attackers can exploit to execute arbitrary code.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability (MS10-017); enforce user awareness to avoid opening untrusted Excel attachments; consider disabling Excel's file preview in email clients to reduce attack surface.

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 Excel or Office application
    Open Excel and go to File > Help, or open Excel and go to About Microsoft Excel. Alternatively, open Control Panel > Programs and Features and locate Microsoft Office or Microsoft Excel in the installed programs list.
    Affected if Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office with Excel component is present on the system
  2. Determine the exact version number of Excel
    In Excel, click File > Help and locate the version information (for example, 'Microsoft Excel 2003 (11.0.8173.0)' or 'Microsoft Excel 2007 (12.0.6514.5601)'). Note the full version string including the build number.
    Affected if The displayed version matches one of the affected products: Excel 2002, Excel 2003, Excel 2007 (any build)
  3. Determine the exact version number of Microsoft Office
    Open any Office application such as Word, go to File > Help, and note the version and build. If Office is installed, Excel component versions typically match the Office suite version.
    Affected if The Office suite version matches Office 2004, Office 2008 (for Mac), or Office 2007 (any build)
  4. Check for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats' or open Excel and check if it can open .xlsx files from newer versions.
    Affected if Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Excel 2007 is installed
  5. Check for Excel Viewer or other affected components
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for 'Microsoft Office Excel Viewer', 'Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter', or check Programs list for these applications.
    Affected if Any of these components are installed: Microsoft Office Excel Viewer (any version), Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, or Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter (any version)

The system is affected if any version of Excel 2002, Excel 2003, Excel 2007, Office 2004, Office 2008, Office 2007, Office Compatibility Pack 2007, Excel Viewer, SharePoint Server 2007, or Open Xml File Format Converter is installed, combined with the likelihood that users may open untrusted Excel attachments.

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 updates for this vulnerability (MS10-017); enforce user awareness to avoid opening untrusted Excel attachments; consider disabling Excel's file preview in email clients to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 365 (current) or Office 2019/2016

  1. 1. Identify all systems with affected Office installations (Excel 2002, 2003, 2007; Office 2004, 2008; Office Compatibility Pack 2007; Office Excel Viewer; Office SharePoint Server 2007; Open XML File Format Converter).
  2. 2. Replace affected Microsoft Office installations with a currently supported version (Office 365, Office 2019, or Office 2016).
  3. 3. Verify that all legacy Office installations have been removed from the network.
  4. 4. Implement endpoint protection to detect malicious Excel files until migration is complete.
Caveat Legacy Office file formats and macros may behave differently in newer versions; some legacy 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
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2010-0262 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