CVE-2010-3949
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in the TIFF image converter in the graphics filters in Microsoft Office XP SP3 and Office Converter Pack allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted TIFF image in an Office document, aka "TIFF Image Converter 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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in the TIFF image converter graphics filter allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted TIFF image embedded in an Office document. The vulnerability affects Microsoft Office XP SP3 and Office Converter Pack, requiring user interaction to open a malicious 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= 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 a Microsoft Office application (such as Word or Excel), click Help, and select About Microsoft Office [Application Name] to view the exact version and service pack levelAffected if The version displays as Microsoft Office XP with Service Pack 3 or earlier
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Check for Office Converter Pack installationOpen Control Panel, go to Programs and Features (or Add/Remove Programs), and look for 'Microsoft Office Converter Pack' in the installed programs listAffected if Microsoft Office Converter Pack is listed as installed regardless of version
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Verify TIFF graphics filter availabilityCheck if the TIFF image converter filter is present by attempting to insert a TIFF image into an Office document or viewing the installed graphics filters in Office optionsAffected if TIFF image files can be opened, inserted, or converted within Office applications
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Assess user interaction vectorDetermine whether users in the environment open Office documents from external or untrusted sources (such as email attachments or downloaded files)Affected if Users routinely open Office documents that may contain embedded images from external sources
The environment is affected if Microsoft Office XP (any SP level) or the Office Converter Pack is installed and the TIFF graphics filter functionality is available, as the vulnerability triggers when a user opens a crafted TIFF image embedded in an Office document.
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 available Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability; if patches are unavailable due to End of Life, consider disabling TIFF image preview functionality, using alternative document viewers, or upgrading to a supported Office version.
Microsoft Office 2010 or later (e.g., Office 365, Office 2019, Office 2016)
- Upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office (Office 2010 or later) to receive security updates
- Ensure the Windows operating system is also kept up-to-date with the latest security patches
- For Office Converter Pack, uninstall it if not needed, or replace with updated alternatives
- After upgrading, verify that the TIFF image converter component is updated and no longer vulnerable
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3949 — 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-2010-3949 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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- 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
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