CVE-2010-3231
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Excel 2002 SP3, Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac, and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac do not properly validate record information, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Excel document, aka "Excel Record Parsing Memory 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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel (2002 SP3, Office 2004/2008 for Mac, Open XML File Format Converter for Mac) due to improper validation of record information during Excel document parsing. Attackers can achieve remote code execution by enticing users to open specially crafted Excel files containing malformed record structures.
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= 2002= 2004= 2008all versionsCVSS 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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Identify installed Microsoft Excel versionOpen Excel, go to Help > About Microsoft Excel to see the exact version number. Alternatively, check Programs and Features in Control Panel for installed Microsoft Office/Excel versions.Affected if Version is 2002 (any SP) or versions 2004/2008 for Mac, or if Open XML File Format Converter is installed at any version
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Check for MS10-017 security updateIn Windows, open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates and search for security update KB980085 or MS10-017. On Mac, check for recent Microsoft updates via Microsoft AutoUpdate.Affected if The security update KB980085 (MS10-017) is NOT installed
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Verify Excel file parsing component is presentConfirm the Microsoft Excel application executable exists at typical paths: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\EXCEL.EXE (Office XP/2002) or C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE (Office 2007/2008). On Mac, check /Applications/Microsoft Office folder for Excel.app.Affected if Excel executable is present and matches affected version ranges (2002, 2004, 2008)
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Check for Open XML File Format Converter for MacOn Mac systems, open Finder > Applications and look for 'Open XML File Format Converter' or check /Applications/Microsoft Folder for the converter application.Affected if Open XML File Format Converter for Mac is installed at any version
User is affected if Microsoft Excel 2002 (any service pack), Office 2004/2008 for Mac, or Open XML File Format Converter for Mac is installed AND security update MS10-017 (KB980085) 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.
From vendor dataApply Microsoft security updates (MS10-017) to all affected Excel installations and instruct users to avoid opening Excel documents from untrusted sources until patched.
- 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-2010-3231 — 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-2010-3231 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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- 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