dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-1251

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 and Office 2004 for Mac allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Excel file, aka "Excel Record Stack Corruption 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 memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel's record parsing mechanism where specially crafted Excel files cause stack corruption, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of Excel file record structures during parsing.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches (MS10-017 or subsequent relevant bulletins); avoid opening untrusted Excel files; enable Office Protected View; consider application whitelisting for Office applications.

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004

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 Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Help, or run 'winword.exe' version check via PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\*\Excel\ProductReleaseIDs' | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ProductReleaseIds
    Affected if Version is Excel 2002 or earlier (version 10.x or lower)
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Check Office installation via Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\ProductReleaseIds or older path HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\*\Common\InstallRoot
    Affected if Version is Office 2004 (version 11.x) or earlier
  3. Verify Excel file parsing functionality is present
    Confirm excel.exe exists in Program Files\Microsoft Office\ or Office*\root\Office*\ and can be launched
    Affected if Excel executable is present and functional - the record parsing code that contains the vulnerability is active when Excel runs
  4. Check for security update installation
    View installed updates via Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run: Get-HotFix -Description 'Security Update' | Where-Object {$_.Description -like '*Excel*' -or $_.Description -like '*MS10-017*'}
    Affected if No security update for CVE-2010-1251 (MS10-017 or later) is installed, leaving the stack corruption vulnerability unpatched

User is affected if running Microsoft Excel 2002 or Office 2004 (or earlier) without the MS10-017 security patch installed, and the Excel application is used to open files.

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); avoid opening untrusted Excel files; enable Office Protected View; consider application whitelisting for Office applications.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 2007 or later (Microsoft 365 recommended for ongoing security updates)

  1. 1. Verify the current Microsoft Office version by opening any Office application, clicking File, then Account or Help to confirm the exact version (Excel 2002 or Office 2004 for Mac).
  2. 2. Back up all important Excel files and documents to an external location or cloud storage.
  3. 3. Uninstall Microsoft Office 2002 (Excel) or Office 2004 for Mac from the system.
  4. 4. Download and install a supported, current version of Microsoft Office (Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or Office 2019).
  5. 5. Alternatively, if staying on older supported versions, apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-017 (KB981046) which addresses this vulnerability for Office 2002.
  6. 6. After installation, open Excel and verify the application launches without errors.
  7. 7. Test with a sample Excel file to confirm normal functionality.
Caveat Office 2002/2004 are legacy products with file format differences; macro-enabled templates may need updating; some older VBA scripts could require modification

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2010-1251 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