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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-3947

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-12-16
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
Heap-based buffer overflow in the TIFF image converter in the graphics filters in Microsoft Office XP SP3, Office Converter Pack, and Works 9 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted TIFF image in an Office document, aka "TIFF Image Converter Heap 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

Heap-based buffer overflow in the TIFF image converter in Microsoft Office graphics filters allows remote code execution via a crafted malicious TIFF image embedded in an Office document. The vulnerability requires user interaction to open the malicious file.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for affected Office products (XP SP3, Converter Pack, Works 9) or upgrade to supported Office versions. Implement network-based filtering and sandboxing for Office 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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= xp
Office Converter PackApplication
Affected:all versions
WorksApplication
Affected:= 9.0

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. Check for Microsoft Office XP installation
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common\InstallRoot, or check Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10 for the existence of the Office folder. Use 'winword.exe /?' in Command Prompt to display version info.
    Affected if Office XP is present and no security updates for KB2293386 have been applied.
  2. Check for Microsoft Office Converter Pack installation
    Check Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features) for 'Microsoft Office Converter Pack' in the installed programs list, or check the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry containing 'Converter Pack'.
    Affected if Microsoft Office Converter Pack is installed (all versions are affected).
  3. Check for Microsoft Works 9.0 installation
    Check Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features) for 'Microsoft Works 9.0' in the installed programs list, or check the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Works for a version value of 9.0.
    Affected if Microsoft Works 9.0 is present and no security updates have been applied.
  4. Verify TIFF graphics filter presence
    Check for the existence of tifffilt.dll (TIFF filter) in the Office installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\GRPHFLT or Office10\Graphics filter). The file should be present for the vulnerability to be exploitable.
    Affected if The TIFF image converter filter (tifffilt.dll) is present and the affected Office product version is detected.

A user is affected if any of these conditions are true: Office XP is installed without the KB2293386 security update, Microsoft Office Converter Pack of any version is installed, or Microsoft Works 9.0 is installed without the corresponding security patch, AND the system opens Office documents containing embedded TIFF images.

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 updates for affected Office products (XP SP3, Converter Pack, Works 9) or upgrade to supported Office versions. Implement network-based filtering and sandboxing for Office documents from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft Office XP SP3 with security update (contact Microsoft for specific KB number)

  1. Identify the Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS10-xxx) that addresses CVE-2010-3947 by checking the Microsoft Security Response Center or US-CERT
  2. Locate the corresponding KB article for your affected product (Office XP SP3 KBxxxxxx, Office Converter Pack, or Works 9)
  3. Apply the security update from the Microsoft Download Center or through Windows Update
  4. Restart the affected system to complete the patch installation
  5. Verify the update was installed successfully via Windows Update or by checking the installed updates list
Caveat Microsoft Office XP and Works 9 are end-of-life products; no further security updates are available; consider migrating to newer Office versions

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2010-3947 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