CVE-2011-0092
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 LZW stream decompression functionality in ORMELEMS.DLL in Microsoft Visio 2002 SP2, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Visio file with a malformed VisioDocument stream that triggers an exception handler that accesses an object that has not been fully initialized, which triggers memory corruption, aka "Visio Object 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 LZW stream decompression functionality of ORMELEMS.DLL in Microsoft Visio 2002 SP2, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP2. Attackers can exploit this by crafting a malformed VisioDocument stream that triggers an exception handler to access an uninitialized object, leading to arbitrary code execution.
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= 2002= 2003= 2007CVSS 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 Visio versionOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate Microsoft Visio, and note the version (2002, 2003, or 2007) and service pack levelAffected if Version is 2002 SP2, 2003 SP3, or 2007 SP2 specifically
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Locate ORMELEMS.DLLSearch for ORMELEMS.DLL in the Visio installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio<version>\) or use command: dir /s C:\ORMELEMS.DLLAffected if File exists on the system
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Check ORMELEMS.DLL file versionRight-click ORMELEMS.DLL > Properties > Details tab to view File Version; or use PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio<version>\ORMELEMS.DLL').VersionInfo.FileVersionAffected if Version matches the vulnerable DLL version for the affected Visio release (compare against Microsoft security bulletin MS11-009 for patched version)
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Confirm Visio file handling is enabledVerify that opening Visio documents is allowed - check if Visio executable (VISIO.EXE) can be launched and handles .vsd files; check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Visio\InstallRoot for installation statusAffected if Visio is installed and functional, allowing users to open .vsd or .vsdx files
System is affected if Visio 2002 SP2, 2003 SP3, or 2007 SP2 is installed with a vulnerable version of ORMELEMS.DLL that has not been patched via MS11-009.
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.
From vendor dataApply Microsoft security updates for Visio (MS11-009) or later to address the vulnerability. Until patched, exercise caution with untrusted Visio files and disable opening of Visio documents from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-0092 — 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-2011-0092 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