CVE-2010-3236
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 and 2003 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 "Out Of Bounds Array 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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds array vulnerability in Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, Office 2004/2008 for Mac, and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac caused by improper validation of record information. Attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening specially crafted Excel documents.
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= 2003= 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.
-
Identify installed Excel version on WindowsOpen Excel, go to Help > About Microsoft Excel, or run 'winword /?' from command prompt to check version. For registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Product Release IDs or older Office paths under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Excel\InstallRootAffected if Version number resolves to 10.x (Excel 2002) or 11.x (Excel 2003)
-
Identify installed Office version on MacOpen any Office application, go to the application menu (e.g., Excel > About Excel) to view the version numberAffected if Version is listed as 2004 or 2008 (any subversion)
-
Check for Open XML File Format Converter on MacOpen Finder, navigate to /Applications folder, or search for 'Open XML File Format Converter' using SpotlightAffected if The converter application is present on the system (all versions are affected)
-
Confirm vulnerability applicabilityThe flaw requires the user to open a specially crafted Excel (.xls) file. Check whether the Excel application handles file parsing for record informationAffected if The identified version falls within the affected range and the user can open Excel files
User is affected if Excel 2002, Excel 2003, Office 2004 for Mac, Office 2008 for Mac, or Open XML File Format Converter for Mac is installed without applying Microsoft security update MS10-017
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 the relevant Microsoft security updates to all affected Office installations. Until patched, advise users not to open Excel files from untrusted sources.
Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2016 (any currently supported Office version)
- Upgrade to a currently supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2016) to obtain security updates and eliminate the vulnerability
- Ensure Windows Update or Office Update is enabled and configured to automatically install security patches for new versions
- If upgrading is not immediately feasible, remove or block untrusted Excel file attachments from unknown sources and warn users not to open unsolicited Excel documents
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3236 — 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-2010-3236 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
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.
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