CVE-2010-3950
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 · uneditedThe TIFF image converter in the graphics filters in Microsoft Office XP SP3, Office Converter Pack, and Works 9 does not properly convert data, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted TIFF image in an Office document, aka "TIFF Image Converter Memory Corruption 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 confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability exists in the TIFF image converter graphics filters of Microsoft Office XP SP3, Office Converter Pack, and Works 9. Attackers exploit this by embedding a specially crafted TIFF image in an Office document, which when opened triggers memory corruption allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service.
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 versions= 9.0CVSS 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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Check if Microsoft Office XP SP3 is installedOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common\InstallRoot, or run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common\InstallRoot"' via command promptAffected if The registry key exists and contains file path entries for Office installation
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Check if Microsoft Office Converter Pack is installedOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\CONV.exe, or check Program Files\Microsoft Office Converter Pack for conversion DLLsAffected if The Converter Pack registry key exists or converter files are present in the installation directory
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Check if Microsoft Works 9.0 is installedOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Works\9.0\Install, or run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Works\9.0"' via command promptAffected if The Works 9.0 registry key exists with installation path entries
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Verify the TIFF graphics filter component is presentCheck for the presence of TIFFIM32.FLT or related filter DLLs in the Office installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Filters or similar path)Affected if The TIFF filter file exists in the Office filters directory and loads when opening Office documents
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Confirm document handling of TIFF images is possibleAttempt to insert a TIFF image into a Word/Excel document or check file association for .tiff/.tif extensions pointing to Office applicationsAffected if The system can render TIFF images through Office applications using the built-in graphics filters
You are affected if any of Office XP SP3, Office Converter Pack, or Works 9.0 is installed and the TIFF graphics filter component is present and functional 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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Microsoft security update MS10-087 or later cumulative updates for Office. Avoid opening untrusted Office documents from unknown sources. Implement network-based sandboxing to inspect TIFF attachments before delivery to end users.
Upgrade from Office XP SP3 to a supported Microsoft Office version (e.g., Office 2010 or later, or Microsoft 365)
- 1. Verify the current Microsoft Office version by opening any Office application, clicking 'Help', and checking the 'About' information.
- 2. If running Office XP SP3, apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-087 (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-087) which addresses CVE-2010-3950.
- 3. Alternatively, upgrade to a supported Microsoft Office version such as Office 2010, Office 2013, or Microsoft 365 which includes ongoing security updates.
- 4. For systems running Works 9, upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office or migrate to Microsoft 365.
- 5. After patching or upgrading, verify the update was applied by checking Windows Update history.
- 6. Test that Office applications function normally after the update.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2010-3950 — 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-2010-3950 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data