dbcve.org
VisioApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2011-0093

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-02-10
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
ELEMENTS.DLL in Microsoft Visio 2002 SP2, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP2 does not properly parse structures during the opening of a Visio file, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a file containing a malformed structure, aka "Visio Data Type 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 confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in ELEMENTS.DLL when parsing malformed structures in Visio files. Opening a specially crafted Visio file triggers improper parsing, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code via controlled memory writes. Affects Visio 2002 SP2, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP2.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability; until patched, restrict opening Visio files from untrusted sources and consider disabling Visio file preview handlers in email environments.

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
VisioApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003= 2007

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. Identify installed Visio version
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, find Microsoft Visio in the list, and note the version listed. Alternatively, run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Visio\InstallRoot" /v Version' where {version} is 10.0 (2002), 11.0 (2003), or 12.0 (2007).
    Affected if The version shows 2002, 2003, or 2007 (any Service Pack) without security patches applied.
  2. Locate ELEMENTS.DLL
    Search for ELEMENTS.DLL in the Visio installation directory, typically found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE{version} (where OFFICE11 is 2003, OFFICE12 is 2007). Use: dir /s C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\*ELEMENTS.DLL
    Affected if ELEMENTS.DLL exists in the Visio program folder, indicating the vulnerable component is present.
  3. Verify Visio file preview handler status
    Check if the Visio preview handler is registered in the registry: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\.vsd\shellex\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}" or reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\.vsdx\shellex\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}"
    Affected if A preview handler GUID is registered, meaning Windows Explorer preview pane can parse Visio files automatically.
  4. Confirm Visio file association
    Check if .vsd or .vsdx file types are associated with Visio: reg query "HKCR\.vsd" or reg query "HKCR\.vsdx"
    Affected if The file associations point to Visio executable, indicating the application can be invoked to open these files.

You are affected if you have Visio 2002, 2003, or 2007 installed with ELEMENTS.DLL present and the ability to open or preview Visio files (.vsd/.vsdx) without security patches applied.

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 patches for this vulnerability; until patched, restrict opening Visio files from untrusted sources and consider disabling Visio file preview handlers in email environments.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Visio 2010 or later (note: mainstream support for Visio 2007 has ended)

  1. Check currently installed Visio version by opening Visio and navigating to Help > About Microsoft Office Visio
  2. Determine if the installed version matches any of the affected versions: Visio 2002 SP2, Visio 2003 SP3, or Visio 2007 SP2
  3. If running an affected version, apply the relevant Microsoft security update - for this vulnerability (CVE-2011-0093), Microsoft released MS11-023 in April 2011 which addresses this and other Visio vulnerabilities
  4. Download and install the appropriate patch from Microsoft's Security Bulletin MS11-023: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2011/ms11-023
  5. Restart Visio after installing the patch
  6. Alternatively, upgrade to a newer version of Visio not affected by this vulnerability (Visio 2010 or later)
Caveat Upgrading to a newer Visio version may introduce compatibility issues with older Visio files or add-ins, and may require purchase of a newer license

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

Fix this in Visio Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-0093 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2011-0093 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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