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OutlookApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0266

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-07-15
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
High EPSS 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 Outlook 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1 and SP2 does not properly verify e-mail attachments with a PR_ATTACH_METHOD property value of ATTACH_BY_REFERENCE, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted message, aka "Microsoft Outlook SMB Attachment 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

This is a remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook where the application fails to properly validate e-mail attachments that use the PR_ATTACH_METHOD property set to ATTACH_BY_REFERENCE. Attackers can craft malicious messages containing specially crafted attachments that, when opened by the user, allow arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability is exploitable through SMB paths in the attachment reference.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Outlook or upgrade to a version beyond the affected versions (2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, 2007 SP1/SP2). Users should be trained to avoid opening attachments from untrusted sources, and organizations may consider blocking automatic attachment processing 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
OutlookApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003= 2007

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 Outlook version
    Open Outlook, click Help > About Microsoft Outlook, or check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\<version>\Outlook\InstallRoot (version numbers: 10.0=2002, 11.0=2003, 12.0=2007)
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2002, 2003, or 2007 (any service pack level)
  2. Confirm Outlook is configured to automatically process attachments
    In Outlook, go to Tools > Options > Security tab (or in Windows, check Outlook's attachment security settings under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\<version>\Outlook\Security)
    Affected if Attachment handling is enabled (default behavior in affected versions)

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 Outlook or upgrade to a version beyond the affected versions (2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, 2007 SP1/SP2). Users should be trained to avoid opening attachments from untrusted sources, and organizations may consider blocking automatic attachment processing as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft 365 Apps (Current Channel) or Outlook 2010 or later; for Outlook 2007 users, upgrade to Outlook 2007 SP3 with all security updates applied

  1. 1. Upgrade from Outlook 2002/2003/2007 to a currently supported version such as Microsoft 365 Apps, Outlook 2019, or at minimum Outlook 2010 with latest service packs and security updates.
  2. 2. If upgrading to a newer Office version is not immediately possible, apply all available Windows and Office security updates via Windows Update.
  3. 3. For organizations still using legacy Office versions, consider blocking Outlook from handling SMB attachment references at the mail gateway or proxy level as a temporary mitigation.
  4. 4. Ensure Windows Firewall is enabled and SMB traffic is restricted to prevent outbound SMB connections to untrusted servers.
  5. 5. Disable the WebClient service on Windows systems to prevent automatic SMB connection attempts from the WebDAV client.
Caveat Legacy Office versions (2002/2003/2007) are out of mainstream support; upgrading may require new license procurement and compatibility testing with line-of-business applications

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

Fix this in Outlook Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2010-0266 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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