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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-2573

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-11-10
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
Integer underflow in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 SP3 and 2003 SP3, PowerPoint Viewer SP2, and Office 2004 for Mac allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PowerPoint document, aka "PowerPoint Integer Underflow Causes Heap 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

This is an integer underflow vulnerability in Microsoft PowerPoint that leads to heap corruption when processing specially crafted PowerPoint files. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by convincing a user to open a malicious PowerPoint document, achieving complete system compromise.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for the affected PowerPoint versions (2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, Viewer SP2, Office 2004 for Mac). Until patches are applied, block or quarantine untrusted PowerPoint files and disable the PowerPoint file handler in enterprise environments.

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004
PowerpointApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003
Powerpoint ViewerApplication
Affected:= 2007

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 PowerPoint version
    On Windows, check the version via PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\*\Common\InstallRoot' | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Version. Or open PowerPoint, go to File > Help to view the version and SP level. For PowerPoint Viewer, check Add/Remove Programs or the installed program list.
    Affected if Version is 2002 (any SP), 2003 (any SP), 2004 for Mac, or PowerPoint Viewer 2007.
  2. Confirm PowerPoint executable version
    Locate the PowerPoint executable (POWERPNT.exe) in the Office installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\) and view its properties to verify the File Version.
    Affected if File version corresponds to PowerPoint 2002, 2003, or 2007 Viewer.
  3. Check Office service pack level
    In PowerPoint, go to Help > About Microsoft Office PowerPoint to see the installed Service Pack. On Windows, also check via registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\<version>\PowerPoint\InstallRoot to confirm SP3 or earlier is installed.
    Affected if Service Pack 3 or earlier is installed for PowerPoint 2002 or 2003, or the viewer has SP2 or earlier.
  4. Verify PowerPoint file handler is active
    Check if .ppt or .pptx file associations point to the affected PowerPoint executables. In Windows, go to Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program and look for .ppt/.pptx entries.
    Affected if The system has PowerPoint or PowerPoint Viewer installed and configured as the handler for PowerPoint files.

The environment is affected if any version of PowerPoint 2002, 2003, 2004 for Mac, or PowerPoint Viewer 2007 is installed, regardless of service pack level, and the system processes PowerPoint 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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for the affected PowerPoint versions (2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, Viewer SP2, Office 2004 for Mac). Until patches are applied, block or quarantine untrusted PowerPoint files and disable the PowerPoint file handler in enterprise environments.

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2010-2573 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
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