dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2011-1277

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-06-16
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 Excel 2002 SP3, Office 2008 for Mac, and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 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 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 Microsoft Excel and Office products where record information is not properly validated during spreadsheet parsing, allowing arbitrary code execution via crafted Excel files.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS11-038) to affected Office versions; avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited Excel files; implement email/web gateway filtering for unsolicited 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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2008
Open Xml File Format ConverterApplication
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. Identify installed Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Help, or right-click excel.exe in Program Files/Microsoft Office and check Properties > Details for Product Version
    Affected if Version is 2002 or later (including 2003, 2007, 2010) and no MS11-038 patch applied
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office app, go to File > Account > About [App], or check Programs and Features for Microsoft Office entry
    Affected if Office suite version is 2008 or later and no MS11-038 patch applied
  3. Check for Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter
    Look in Programs and Features or check for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter' entry in installed programs list
    Affected if Converter is installed (all versions are affected)
  4. Verify if Excel file handling is accessible
    Attempt to open a test .xls or .xlsx file in Excel, or check if Excel is set as default handler for spreadsheet files
    Affected if Excel can open files and the vulnerable parsing code path is reachable

Your environment is affected if any of Excel (version 2002+), Office (version 2008+), or the Open XML File Format Converter is installed without the MS11-038 security update 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 updates (MS11-038) to affected Office versions; avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited Excel files; implement email/web gateway filtering for unsolicited attachments.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 or later for Windows; Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac or later

  1. 1. Identify the exact version of Microsoft Excel or Office currently installed (Excel > Help > About Microsoft Excel, or for Mac: Excel > About Microsoft Excel)
  2. 2. For Windows: Navigate to Windows Update or Microsoft Update to check for available security updates
  3. 3. Install the security update MS11-045 if available for your version, or proceed with upgrading to a patched version
  4. 4. For Excel 2002: Ensure Service Pack 3 is installed, then apply MS11-045 patch
  5. 5. For Office 2008 for Mac: Upgrade to Office 2011 for Mac or later
  6. 6. For Open XML File Format Converter for Mac: Uninstall the converter and use a supported version of Office for Mac (Office 2011 or later)
  7. 7. Restart the application after update installation
  8. 8. Verify the version shows updated patch level through Excel > Help > About
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2008 for Mac to Office 2011 may require file format compatibility checks; some older macros or add-ins may require updates

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2011-1277 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