CVE-2010-0479
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in Microsoft Office Publisher 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1 and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Publisher file, aka "Microsoft Office Publisher File Conversion TextBox Processing Buffer 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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Office Publisher's file conversion process when handling TextBox objects. A specially crafted .pub file with an oversized TextBox value triggers the overflow, allowing remote code execution when the file is opened.
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= 2002= 2003= 2007CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Publisher versionOpen Microsoft Publisher, then go to Help > About Microsoft Office Publisher. Alternatively, open Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate Microsoft Office or Microsoft Publisher, and note the version shown.Affected if The version displayed is Microsoft Publisher 2002, 2003, or 2007 (or corresponding Office versions containing Publisher: Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007).
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Verify .pub file associationLocate any .pub file in Windows Explorer, right-click, and check 'Open with' to confirm Publisher is the default handler, or attempt to open the file with Publisher.Affected if Microsoft Publisher is the default handler for .pub files and successfully opens them.
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Check if Preview pane is activeIn Windows Explorer, click the 'Preview pane' button in the toolbar (or press Alt+P). Look for the preview section appearing on the right side.Affected if Preview pane is enabled and active in Windows Explorer.
If Microsoft Publisher version 2002, 2003, or 2007 is installed and can open .pub files, the environment is potentially affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply Microsoft security updates KB982312 (or subsequent superseded patches) to affected Publisher versions. Until patched, disable Preview pane in Windows Explorer and warn users not to open untrusted Publisher files.
Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-023 (KB980582 for Office 2003, KB980585 for Office 2007); for Office 2002 support is discontinued - upgrade to a supported Office version
- 1. Identify the installed Microsoft Office Publisher version (2002, 2003, or 2007) and service pack level
- 2. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-023, which addresses this vulnerability
- 3. For Publisher 2003 SP3: Install security update KB980582 from MS10-023
- 4. For Publisher 2007 SP1/SP2: Install security update KB980585 from MS10-023
- 5. Restart the computer after applying the update
- 6. Verify the update was installed successfully via Windows Update or by checking Add/Remove Programs for the relevant KB article
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-0479 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-0479 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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