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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 24 Mar 2022.
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-3333

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2010-11-10
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS No privileges Patch available

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
Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP3, Office 2007 SP2, Office 2010, Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac, Office for Mac 2011, and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted RTF data, aka "RTF Stack Buffer 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 confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office RTF parsing allows remote code execution when processing crafted RTF files. The vulnerability affects multiple Windows and Mac Office versions, with attackers able to overflow stack memory by providing specially crafted RTF content with oversized data elements.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for affected Office versions; alternatively, disable RTF file handling in Office or use Protected View to block files 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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2003= 2004= 2007= 2008= 2010= 2011= xp
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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Office version
    Open Office application, go to Help > About, or check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel for installed Office versions
    Affected if Version is 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, or XP (any of the affected versions)
  2. Verify RTF file handling is enabled
    Check if .rtf file association exists: open Control Panel > Default Programs > Set Associations, or attempt to open any .rtf file with Word/Office
    Affected if RTF files open automatically in Word or any Office application - this means RTF parsing is active
  3. Check for security updates installed
    Open Windows Update > View update history, or check Program and Features > View installed updates for security update KB2293194 or subsequent RTF-related security patches
    Affected if The specific security update KB2293194 or later RTF patches are NOT installed
  4. Confirm Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter presence
    Check Program Files for Open Xml File Format Converter folder, or look in Add/Remove Programs
    Affected if Open Xml File Format Converter is installed (all versions are affected)
  5. Verify Protected View or Attachment Manager settings
    Check Trust Center settings in Word/Office: File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View; also check Attachment Manager in same menu
    Affected if Protected View is disabled for all sources AND Attachment Manager is not configured to warn on RTF files

User is affected if running any affected Office version (2003-XP, 2007-2011) or Open Xml File Format Converter AND RTF file handling is enabled AND security update KB2293194 is not installed.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for affected Office versions; alternatively, disable RTF file handling in Office or use Protected View to block files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 SP2 or later (which includes the security fix)

  1. Check current Microsoft Office version by opening any Office application, clicking File > Help
  2. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-087 (the official patch for CVE-2010-3333) from Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Center
  3. If Windows Update is configured, run Windows Update and install all security updates for Microsoft Office
  4. Verify the patch was installed successfully by checking Windows Update history
  5. For Open XML File Format Converter for Mac, apply any available Apple security updates
Caveat Patching older Office versions (XP/2003) may not be fully supported; consider upgrading to a currently supported Office version for long-term security

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

Fix this in Office Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2010-3333 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