CVE-2010-3242
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 "Ghost Record Type 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 confidenceThis vulnerability exists in Microsoft Excel and Office products for both Windows and Mac when parsing the Open XML file format. The application fails to properly validate record information within crafted Excel documents, allowing an attacker to inject malicious code that executes with the privileges of the user opening the file.
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.
-
Check for Microsoft Excel installation and versionOpen Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel, or run 'excel.exe' and check Help > About Microsoft Excel. Alternatively, check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\InstallRoot for version information.Affected if Excel version is 2002 or later (version 10.0 or higher)
-
Check for Microsoft Office installation and versionOpen any Office application (Word, PowerPoint), go to File > Account > About, or check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\InstallRoot for Office 365/2016+, or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\<version>\Common\InstallRoot for older versions.Affected if Office version is 2004 (Mac), 2008 (Mac), or any later version for Windows
-
Check for Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter installationOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'appwiz.cpl', and look for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter' in the installed programs list.Affected if The converter is installed on the system (any version, including all prior versions)
-
Verify Open XML file parsing component presenceConfirm that the Open XML file format parser component exists. Check for msoserver.dll or excelcnv.exe (Excel converter) in the Office installation directory, typically found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Affected if The Open XML parsing components are present in the Office installation directory
You are affected if any version of Microsoft Excel (2002 or later), Microsoft Office (2004 or later for Mac, 2008 or later for Windows), or the Open XML File Format Converter is installed on your system.
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 vendor patches from Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-080 to all affected Excel and Office installations. Additionally, implement controls to block or warn users about opening Excel attachments from untrusted sources.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3242 — 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-2010-3242 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