dbcve.org
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2011-0655

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-04-13
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
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 SP2 and 2010; Office 2004, 2008, and 2011 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP2; PowerPoint Viewer; PowerPoint Viewer 2007 SP2; and PowerPoint Web App do not properly validate TimeColorBehaviorContainer Floating Point records in PowerPoint documents, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted document containing an invalid record, aka "Floating Point Techno-color Time Bandit RCE 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

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft PowerPoint caused by improper validation of TimeColorBehaviorContainer Floating Point records when parsing specially crafted PowerPoint documents. An attacker can exploit this by sending a malicious PowerPoint file that triggers heap corruption, leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the targeted user.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches KB2501584 (for PowerPoint 2007) and KB2501585 (for PowerPoint 2010), or deploy the latest Microsoft Office security updates across all affected systems. Additionally, configure email gateways to block suspicious PowerPoint attachments and educate users about not opening 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:= 2004= 2008= 2011
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 2007
Office Powerpoint ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
Open Xml File Format ConverterApplication
Affected:all versions
PowerpointApplication
Affected:= 2010
Powerpoint ViewerApplication
Affected:= 2007
Powerpoint Web AppApplication
Affected:all versions

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 installed Microsoft PowerPoint version on Windows
    Open PowerPoint, go to File > Help, or use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\*\Common\InstallRoot' | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Version
    Affected if Version matches 2004, 2008, 2011 (Mac) or 2010 (Windows) from the affected list - compare your installed version to the affected ranges provided in the CVE
  2. Check if Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats' and note the version, or check via PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Office\*\Common\InstallRoot' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {$_.Path -like '*Office12*' -or $_.Path -like '*Office14*'}
    Affected if Compatibility Pack version is 2007
  3. Check if PowerPoint Viewer is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer' and note the version, or check for existence of file: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\PPTVIEW.EXE or similar path
    Affected if Any version of PowerPoint Viewer is installed (affected are all versions)
  4. Check for Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter' and note the version
    Affected if Any version of Open XML File Format Converter is installed
  5. Check if PowerPoint Web App is in use
    If your organization uses SharePoint or Office Web Apps, verify the version of Microsoft PowerPoint Web App by checking SharePoint administration or consulting your Office Web Apps server documentation
    Affected if Any version of PowerPoint Web App is deployed

You are affected if you have any of the vulnerable Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, PowerPoint Viewer, Compatibility Pack, Open XML File Format Converter, or PowerPoint Web App versions installed, and you open specially crafted PowerPoint files from untrusted sources.

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 KB2501584 (for PowerPoint 2007) and KB2501585 (for PowerPoint 2010), or deploy the latest Microsoft Office security updates across all affected systems. Additionally, configure email gateways to block suspicious PowerPoint attachments and educate users about not opening documents from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-025 or later cumulative updates containing the CVE-2011-0655 fix

  1. Identify the exact Office/PowerPoint version installed on each affected system using About dialog or system information
  2. For Windows systems: Apply the relevant Microsoft security update from MS11-025 (or subsequent cumulative updates that include this fix)
  3. For Mac systems: Apply the corresponding security update through Microsoft AutoUpdate or manual download from microsoft.com
  4. Verify the patch was successfully installed by checking installed updates via Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates
  5. Restart affected applications and systems after applying updates
  6. For systems running PowerPoint Web App: Ensure the SharePoint or Office Web Apps server receives the corresponding server-side patch
Caveat Patching may require restart of Office applications; ensure work is saved before applying updates

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,380
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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-2011-0655 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