dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 22 Jun 2022.
PowerpointApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-2572

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2010-11-10
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS No privileges Patch available

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
Buffer overflow in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PowerPoint 95 document, aka "PowerPoint Parsing 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 confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP3 when parsing specially crafted PowerPoint 95 documents. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed PowerPoint 95 file that triggers a buffer overflow during file parsing.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates KB2289162 (PowerPoint 2002) and KB2289163 (PowerPoint 2003), or upgrade to a patched version. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PowerPoint files 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
PowerpointApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 PowerPoint version
    Open PowerPoint, click Help menu, select About Microsoft Office PowerPoint. Note the version number displayed (e.g., 10.0 for 2002, 11.0 for 2003).
    Affected if Version is 10.0 (PowerPoint 2002) or 11.0 (PowerPoint 2003)
  2. Check Service Pack level
    In the About dialog, look for the service pack indicator (e.g., 'Service Pack 3' listed in the version information). Alternatively, check Windows Update history for installed updates.
    Affected if Service Pack 3 is installed on PowerPoint 2002 or 2003
  3. Confirm full version number
    Run 'winver' from command prompt or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office version details. The affected versions are specifically 2002 SP3 (10.0.6866.0 or later within 10.x) and 2003 SP3 (11.0.8164.0 or later within 11.x).
    Affected if Build number falls within the 2002 SP3 or 2003 SP3 release range
  4. Verify PowerPoint application presence
    Check if powerpnt.exe exists in the Office installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10 for 2002 or Office11 for 2003).
    Affected if PowerPoint executable is found indicating Office 2002/2003 is installed

A user is affected if PowerPoint 2002 SP3 or PowerPoint 2003 SP3 is installed and they open a specially crafted PowerPoint 95 file format document.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates KB2289162 (PowerPoint 2002) and KB2289163 (PowerPoint 2003), or upgrade to a patched version. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PowerPoint files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. 1. Verify current Microsoft Office version by opening PowerPoint, clicking 'Help', and selecting 'About Microsoft Office PowerPoint'
  2. 2. Discontinue use of affected versions (PowerPoint 2002 SP3 and PowerPoint 2003 SP3) as they are no longer supported by Microsoft
  3. 3. Uninstall the vulnerable Office installation via Control Panel > Programs and Features
  4. 4. Install a currently supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or Office 2019) from official Microsoft sources
  5. 5. Ensure Windows Update is enabled and configured to receive security updates for the new Office installation
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the PowerPoint version in 'Help' > 'About Microsoft Office PowerPoint'
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2002/2003 may require purchase of a new license; some legacy features or file formats may not be fully compatible with newer versions

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

Fix this in Powerpoint Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get it fixed fast

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-2010-2572 — 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-2010-2572 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