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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2011-0978

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
Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Excel 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP2; Office 2004 for Mac; Excel Viewer SP2; and Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to an axis properties record, and improper incrementing of an array index, aka "Excel Array Indexing 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

Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Excel and Office products allows remote code execution via specially crafted Excel files. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of axis properties records and improper incrementing of an array index during file parsing, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS11-021, MS11-022, MS11-023) to all affected Excel and Office installations. Additionally, configure Microsoft Office File Validation and warn users not to open untrusted Excel attachments.

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
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2003= 2007
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 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. Check Microsoft Excel installed version
    Open Excel, go to File > Help, or run 'excel /?' from command line, or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Excel installations
    Affected if Version is 2002, 2003, or 2007 (any subversion)
  2. Check Microsoft Office installed version
    Open any Office application, go to File > Help, or check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office installations
    Affected if Version is 2004 (any subversion)
  3. Check Microsoft Excel Viewer installation status
    Check Add/Remove Programs or installed programs list for Microsoft Excel Viewer
    Affected if Excel Viewer is installed at any version
  4. Check Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack version
    Check Add/Remove Programs for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Excel/Word/PowerPoint File Formats
    Affected if Version is 2007 (any subversion)
  5. Verify security updates MS11-021, MS11-022, MS11-023 installation status
    Check Windows Update history, or view installed updates via Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' command
    Affected if None of these three security updates are installed on the system

A system is affected if it has Microsoft Excel 2002, 2003, or 2007, Office 2004, any version of Excel Viewer, or Office Compatibility Pack 2007 installed AND lacks the MS11-021, MS11-022, or MS11-023 security updates.

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 updates (MS11-021, MS11-022, MS11-023) to all affected Excel and Office installations. Additionally, configure Microsoft Office File Validation and warn users not to open untrusted Excel attachments.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-021 patches for the respective product versions (KB2541002 for Excel 2002, KB2541025 for Excel 2003/Excel Viewer, KB2541007 for Excel 2007/Compatibility Pack)

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-021 (April 12, 2011) which addresses this vulnerability
  2. For Excel 2002 SP3: Install security update KB2541002
  3. For Excel 2003 SP3: Install security update KB2541025
  4. For Excel 2007 SP2: Install security update KB2541007
  5. For Office 2004 for Mac: Apply security update from MS11-021
  6. For Excel Viewer SP2: Install security update KB2541025
  7. For Office Compatibility Pack for 2007 File Formats SP2: Install security update KB2541007
  8. After patching, verify version numbers reflect the security update installation
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; they are cumulative and contain only security fixes

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2011-0978 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