dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0823

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 a crafted Excel file, aka "Excel Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-1247 and CVE-2010-1249.

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 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted Excel (.xls) files. The vulnerability affects multiple versions including Excel 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, 2007 SP1/SP2, Office for Mac, Excel Viewer, and Office Compatibility Pack.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches (MS10-017 or subsequent relevant bulletins) to update all affected Office installations to patched versions, or restrict opening of untrusted Excel files until patches can be applied.

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. Check installed Microsoft Excel version on Windows
    Open Excel, go to File > Help (or Help > About Microsoft Excel) to view the version number, or check the registry at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Excel\InstallRoot where version is 11.0 (2003), 12.0 (2007)
    Affected if The installed version is Excel 2002 (version 10.0), Excel 2003 (version 11.0), or Excel 2007 (version 12.0) and has not been patched
  2. Check installed Microsoft Office version on Windows
    Open any Office application, go to File > Help, or check registry at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Common\InstallRoot
    Affected if The installed version is Office 2004 (version 11.0), Office 2008 (version 12.0), or Office 2007 (version 12.0) and has not been patched
  3. Check Microsoft Office for Mac version
    Open any Office for Mac application, click the application name in the menu bar and select About, or check /Applications/Microsoft Office version folder
    Affected if The installed version is Office for Mac 2004 or Office for Mac 2008 and has not been patched
  4. Check Microsoft Office Excel Viewer installation and version
    Check for Excel Viewer installation in Program Files, or check Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features) for Microsoft Office Excel Viewer
    Affected if Microsoft Office Excel Viewer is installed (all versions are affected) and has not been patched
  5. Check Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack version
    Check Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features) for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats, or check registry at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Common\InstallRoot
    Affected if Office Compatibility Pack for Office 2007 is installed and has not been patched
  6. Check Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter installation
    Check Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features) for Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter for Mac, or check Applications folder on Mac
    Affected if Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter is installed (all versions are affected) and has not been patched

A user is affected if any of the following unpatched products are installed: Excel 2002, Excel 2003, Excel 2007, Office 2004 for Mac, Office 2008 for Mac, Office Compatibility Pack for Office 2007, Office Excel Viewer, or Open XML File Format Converter.

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 patches (MS10-017 or subsequent relevant bulletins) to update all affected Office installations to patched versions, or restrict opening of untrusted Excel files until patches can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021 (currently supported Office versions)

  1. 1. Discontinue use of affected Microsoft Office versions (Excel 2002, 2003, 2007; Office 2004/2008 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter; Office Compatibility Pack 2007; Office Excel Viewer) as they are no longer supported by Microsoft.
  2. 2. Upgrade to a currently supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021) which receives regular security updates.
  3. 3. Ensure Microsoft Office is configured to receive automatic security updates from Microsoft Update.
  4. 4. Implement organizational controls to prevent opening of untrusted or unexpected Excel files from external sources until the upgrade is complete.
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2004/2008 for Mac or older Windows versions may require hardware requirements updates and user training on interface changes; legacy macro compatibility may need testing

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2010-0823 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