dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0821

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-06-08
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
Unspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, 2007 SP1 and SP2; Office 2004 for mac; Office 2008 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; 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 an Excel file with a crafted SxView record, related to improper validation of unspecified structures, aka "Excel Record Parsing Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-0824 and CVE-2010-1245.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel's parsing of SxView records. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious Excel files containing improperly validated structures, allowing arbitrary code execution on the victim's machine.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates MS10-017 (or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Office installations. Until patched, warn users against opening untrusted Excel attachments and consider disabling Excel's file preview in email clients.

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
Open Xml File Format ConverterApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 2007
Office Excel ViewerApplication
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 Excel version
    Open Microsoft Excel, then go to Help > About Microsoft Excel to view the version number. Alternatively, locate Excel.exe in the Office installation folder, right-click it, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the version.
    Affected if The displayed version is 2002, 2003, or 2007 (these exact versions are affected).
  2. Identify Microsoft Office version
    Open any Microsoft Office application (such as Word or PowerPoint), go to Help > About, or open Control Panel > Programs and Features to view installed Microsoft Office versions.
    Affected if Office version 2004 or 2008 is installed (these exact versions are affected).
  3. Check for Excel Viewer installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or search the system for 'Excel Viewer' or 'Microsoft Office Excel Viewer' in installed programs.
    Affected if Microsoft Office Excel Viewer is installed (all versions are affected).
  4. Check for Open XML File Format Converter
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or search for 'Open Xml File Format Converter' among installed software.
    Affected if Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter is installed (all versions are affected).
  5. Check for Office Compatibility Pack
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, and look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats'.
    Affected if Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack version 2007 is installed.
  6. Verify if security patch MS10-017 is applied
    Open Windows Update > View update history, or check the installed updates list for security update KB980085 (which corresponds to MS10-017).
    Affected if The security update KB980085 is NOT listed among installed updates, meaning the vulnerability remains unpatched.

A user is affected if any of the following is true: Excel 2002, 2003, or 2007 is installed; Office 2004 or 2008 is installed; Excel Viewer of any version is installed; Open XML File Format Converter is installed; Office Compatibility Pack 2007 is installed, AND the MS10-017 security patch (KB980085) has not been applied.

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 MS10-017 (or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Office installations. Until patched, warn users against opening untrusted Excel attachments and consider disabling Excel's file preview in email clients.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft Office versions with extended support (e.g., Office 365, Office 2016/2019/2021 perpetual) or apply MS10-038 security update for legacy versions

  1. Install Microsoft Security Update MS10-038 (June 8, 2010) which patches CVE-2010-0821
  2. For Excel 2002: Ensure you have Excel 2002 SP3 installed, then apply MS10-038
  3. For Excel 2003: Ensure you have Excel 2003 SP3 installed, then apply MS10-038
  4. For Excel 2007: Apply MS10-038 or upgrade to Excel 2007 SP2 and apply all subsequent security updates
  5. For Office 2004/2008 for Mac: Apply MS10-038 or migrate to a supported Office version
  6. For Office Excel Viewer: Apply MS10-038 or migrate to a supported viewer
  7. For Office Compatibility Pack: Apply MS10-038
  8. After patching, verify the update was applied via Windows Update or the Office Update site
Caveat Minimal risk for security update; some older Excel features may be deprecated in newer versions if upgrading

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2010-0821 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