CVE-2010-3230
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 · uneditedInteger overflow in Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an Excel document with crafted record information, aka "Excel Record Parsing Integer 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 confidenceInteger overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3's record parsing functionality. When Excel processes a specially crafted Excel document with malformed record information, the integer overflow can be exploited to execute arbitrary code remotely.
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= 2002CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Microsoft Excel 2002 is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'appwiz.cpl', and look for Microsoft Excel 2002 in the installed programs list. Alternatively, check the file version of EXCEL.EXE (typically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office10\)Affected if Microsoft Excel 2002 is listed as installed
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Confirm the exact Excel version and service packOpen Excel, go to Help > About Microsoft Excel, or right-click EXCEL.EXE > Properties > Version tab. Look for version 10.0.xxxx where the last digits indicate SP3 (version 10.0.6860 or higher for SP3)Affected if The installed version is Microsoft Excel 2002 and the service pack shown is SP3 or lower
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Verify if security patch MS10-038 has been appliedOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'appwiz.cpl' and click 'View installed updates'. Search for security update MS10-038 or KB983235Affected if The MS10-038 security update (KB983235) is NOT listed in installed updates
A user is affected if Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3 (or earlier) is installed AND the MS10-038 security patch has not been applied.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply Microsoft security patch MS10-038 which addresses this vulnerability. Until patch deployment, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted Excel attachments and disable macro execution in Office.
Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, 2010, or newer for extended security support, or apply MS10-038 patch for Excel 2002 SP3
- Check current Microsoft Office version by opening Excel, clicking Help, and selecting About Microsoft Office Excel
- Navigate to Microsoft Update or manually download the security update for Excel 2002
- Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-038 which addresses CVE-2010-3230
- Alternatively, consider upgrading to a newer version of Microsoft Office for long-term security support
- Verify the patch was applied successfully by checking installed updates
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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 locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3230 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-3230 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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