dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-1252

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 String Variable 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 · moderate confidence

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel 2002 SP3 and Office 2004 for Mac that allows remote code execution via a specially crafted Excel file containing malformed string variables. The attacker tricks a user into opening the malicious file, leading to arbitrary code execution with the victim's privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-017 patches for the affected Office versions, implement email/attachment filtering to block untrusted Excel files, and educate users about not opening attachments from unknown sources.

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. Verify Microsoft Excel 2002 is installed on Windows
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\InstallRoot, or check C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Excel.exe existence
    Affected if The registry key exists or Excel.exe is found in the Office directory
  2. Determine installed Excel version on Windows
    Right-click Excel.exe in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\, select Properties, and check the Version tab; or run 'excel /?' from Command Prompt
    Affected if Version shows 10.0.xxxx (where xxxx is any build) indicating Excel 2002
  3. Check for Excel 2002 Service Pack 3
    In Excel, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Excel and look for 'SP3' in the version string, or check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Resiliency\InstalledVersion
    Affected if The version does not show SP3 or the SP3 registry key is missing, indicating a version before Service Pack 3
  4. Verify Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac is installed
    Open Finder, navigate to /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/, or check for Microsoft Word.app in Applications folder (Office 2004 bundle includes Excel)
    Affected if The Microsoft Office 2004 folder or Excel.app within it exists
  5. Determine Office 2004 for Mac version
    Open any Office 2004 application, hold Option and click Help > About Microsoft Office [App], or right-click Microsoft Excel.app in Applications and choose Get Info
    Affected if The version shown is 11.x.xxxx (indicating Office 2004) with no security update applied

A user is affected if they have Excel 2002 (any build before SP3) on Windows or Office 2004 for Mac installed, and the Excel application can be 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 Bulletin MS10-017 patches for the affected Office versions, implement email/attachment filtering to block untrusted Excel files, and educate users about not opening attachments from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 365, Office 2016, Office 2019, or Office 2021 (any supported current version)

  1. Upgrade Microsoft Office to a supported version. Microsoft Excel 2002 and Office 2004 for Mac are no longer supported by Microsoft.
  2. Recommended: Upgrade to Microsoft Office 365 or the latest supported on-premises version (Office 2016/2019/2021) which includes the latest security patches.
  3. If upgrade is not immediately feasible, ensure Microsoft Fix it patches from the original MS10-017 security bulletin (or subsequent related bulletins) have been applied.
  4. For Office 2004 for Mac specifically, upgrade to a supported Mac Office version such as Office 2016 for Mac or Microsoft 365 for Mac.
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2002 to newer versions may require file format migration, macro rewriting, and compatibility testing for existing templates and add-ins. Consider the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for file format compatibility if staying on Office 2007.

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-1252 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2010-1252 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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