CVE-2010-3946
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 · uneditedInteger overflow in the PICT image converter in the graphics filters in Microsoft Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP3, and Office Converter Pack allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PICT image in an Office document, aka "PICT Image Converter Integer 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 confidenceInteger overflow in the PICT image converter graphics filter allows remote code execution when users open Office documents containing specially crafted PICT images. The overflow enables attackers to execute arbitrary code via the malformed image data.
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= 2003= xpall 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 Office versionOpen Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint, go to Help > About Microsoft Office [App] or check Programs and Features for Microsoft Office entries. Note the exact version number (e.g., Office 2003, Office XP).Affected if The installed version is Microsoft Office 2003 or Microsoft Office XP (any Service Pack level).
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Check for Microsoft Office Converter Pack installationOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for 'Microsoft Office Converter Pack' in the installed programs list.Affected if Microsoft Office Converter Pack is installed (any version).
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Verify presence of graphics filters including PICT converterSearch for graphics filter files in the Office installation directory (typically in Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\Graphics or similar paths). Look for filter files related to PICT image format conversion.Affected if PICT graphics filter component is present and loaded by Office applications.
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Check for unpatched state via installed updatesOpen Windows Update or check Add/Remove Programs for security update MS10-105 or verify that the specific patch for this CVE has not been installed.Affected if Security update MS10-105 has not been installed, leaving the PICT converter vulnerable.
A user is affected if they have Microsoft Office 2003, Office XP, or Office Converter Pack installed AND the PICT image converter graphics filter is present AND security update MS10-105 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.
dbcve · scopedApply Microsoft security update MS10-105 to patch the affected Office installations (XP SP3, 2003 SP3, Converter Pack), and warn users against opening untrusted Office documents.
Microsoft 365 Apps or Office 2019/2016 (supported versions with active security updates)
- Upgrade from Office XP SP3 or Office 2003 SP3 to a currently supported Microsoft Office version (such as Microsoft 365 Apps or Office 2019/2016)
- Ensure the upgraded Office installation receives current security updates
- If upgrading is not immediately feasible, remove or disable the PICT image converter add-in (graphics filters) as a temporary mitigation
- Do not open untrusted PICT image files received via email or downloaded from untrusted sources
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unknown binaries
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3946 — 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-2010-3946 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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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