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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-3232

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-10-13
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
Microsoft Excel 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2; Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Excel Viewer SP2; and Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP2 do not properly validate record information, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Excel document, aka "Excel File Format Parsing 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 a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel's file format parsing logic. When Excel opens a crafted .xls file with malformed record information, the inadequate validation of record data leads to heap-based buffer overflow, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with the current user's privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS10-017 (or subsequent superseding patches) to all affected Excel and Office installations. Until patches are applied, block unknown .xls attachments at email gateways and warn users not to open documents from untrusted 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:= 2003= 2007
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004= 2008
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 2007
Open Xml File Format ConverterApplication
Affected:all versions

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 Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Help, or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Excel. Note the full version number.
    Affected if The installed version is Excel 2003 or Excel 2007 (any sub-version within these releases).
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office application, go to File > Help, or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office. Note the full version number.
    Affected if The installed version is Office 2004 or Office 2008 (any sub-version within these releases).
  3. Check for Microsoft Excel Viewer
    Look in Add/Remove Programs for 'Microsoft Excel Viewer' or check Program Files for ExcelViewer folder.
    Affected if Microsoft Excel Viewer is installed (any version).
  4. Check for Office Compatibility Pack
    Look in Add/Remove Programs for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats'.
    Affected if Office Compatibility Pack version 2007 is installed.
  5. Check for Open XML File Format Converter
    Look in Add/Remove Programs for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter' or check Program Files for the converter application.
    Affected if Open XML File Format Converter is installed (any version).

You are affected if any of the following are installed: Excel 2003, Excel 2007, Office 2004, Office 2008, any version of Excel Viewer, Office Compatibility Pack 2007, or any version of Open XML File Format Converter - unless MS10-017 or a subsequent security patch has been applied.

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 update MS10-017 (or subsequent superseding patches) to all affected Excel and Office installations. Until patches are applied, block unknown .xls attachments at email gateways and warn users not to open documents from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Office 2010 or later for Windows; Office 2011 for Mac or later; or Microsoft 365/Office 365 subscriptions

  1. 1. Upgrade Microsoft Office to a currently supported version. For Windows systems, migrate to Office 2010 or later. For Mac systems, migrate to Office 2011 for Mac or later.
  2. 2. Ensure the latest Microsoft security updates are applied after upgrading. Check Windows Update or manually download updates from Microsoft Update.
  3. 3. For Excel Viewer users, uninstall Excel Viewer and upgrade to a supported Office application or use Microsoft 365/Office 365 which includes Excel.
  4. 4. For Office Compatibility Pack users, upgrade to a full supported Office installation that natively handles the file formats.
  5. 5. If immediate upgrade is not possible, apply Microsoft security bulletin MS10-038 patches if still available from Microsoft Catalog for the specific affected version.
  6. 6. Train users to avoid opening untrusted Excel attachments from unknown sources as a temporary compensating control.
Caveat Older Office versions may have feature differences; ensure compatibility with existing workflows and other document formats; Mac Office 2011 is also end-of-support so consider Microsoft 365 subscription

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2010-3232 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data