CVE-2011-1274
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Excel 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP2; Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Excel Viewer SP2; and Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP2 do not properly validate record information during parsing of Excel spreadsheets, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted spreadsheet, aka "Excel Out of Bounds Array Access 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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds array access vulnerability in Microsoft Excel and related products (Office for Mac, Excel Viewer, Compatibility Pack). The vulnerability exists because the software does not properly validate record information when parsing Excel spreadsheet files. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious Excel files that trigger memory corruption, leading to remote 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= 2002= 2003= 2007all versions= 2004= 2008= 2007all versionsCVSS 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 Microsoft Excel versionOpen Excel, go to File > Help, or run 'winword.exe /?' from command line, or check Add/Remove Programs, or check registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\{version}\Excel\InstallRootAffected if Version is 2002 (10.x), 2003 (11.x), or 2007 (12.x)
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Identify installed Microsoft Office versionCheck Add/Remove Programs, or check registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\{version}, or run 'winword.exe /?' from command lineAffected if Office version is 2004 (11.x), 2008 (12.x), or if Office 2007 with Excel component is installed
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Check for Microsoft Excel ViewerSearch program files for 'Excel Viewer' folder, or check Add/Remove Programs for 'Excel Viewer', or check registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\ExcelViewerAffected if Excel Viewer is installed (any version)
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Check for Microsoft Office Compatibility PackCheck Add/Remove Programs for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, PowerPoint 2007 File Formats', or check registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Compatibility ManagerAffected if Office Compatibility Pack for Excel 2007 format is installed
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Check for Microsoft Open Xml File Format ConverterSearch program files for 'Open Xml File Format Converter' folder, or check Add/Remove Programs, or check registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Open Xml File Format ConverterAffected if Open Xml File Format Converter is installed (any version)
If any of the above products (Excel 2002/2003/2007, Excel Viewer, Office 2004/2008, Compatibility Pack 2007, or Open Xml File Format Converter) are installed and the MS11-036 patch has not been applied, the system is likely affected.
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 Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability (MS11-036) to all affected Excel versions. Until patched, instruct users not to open Excel files from untrusted sources, and consider blocking .xls attachments at the email gateway.
Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-021 (fixed releases are Excel 2002 SP3 with update, Excel 2003 SP3 with update, Excel 2007 SP2 with update, or upgrade to newer Office versions such as Office 2010 or later)
- Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-021, which addresses this vulnerability in Microsoft Office Excel and related products. Download and install the appropriate update for your version from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2011/ms11-021
- For Microsoft Office Excel 2002 SP3: Apply the update from MS11-021 to obtain the fixed version
- For Microsoft Office Excel 2003 SP3: Apply the update from MS11-021 to obtain the fixed version
- For Microsoft Office Excel 2007 SP2: Apply the update from MS11-021 to obtain the fixed version
- For Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac: Apply the corresponding Mac security updates from Microsoft
- For Excel Viewer SP2: Apply the update from MS11-021
- For Office Compatibility Pack for Office 2007: Apply the update from MS11-021
- After applying updates, verify the installed version matches the fixed release version listed in the security bulletin
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,168.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1274 — 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-2011-1274 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