dbcve.org
PublisherApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2011-1508

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-12-14
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 Publisher 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP2 and SP3, does not properly manage memory allocations for function pointers, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Publisher file, aka "Publisher Function Pointer Overwrite 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

Microsoft Publisher 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2/SP3 contain a memory corruption vulnerability where memory allocations for function pointers are not properly managed, allowing a specially crafted .pub file to overwrite function pointers and achieve arbitrary code execution. The attack requires user-assisted interaction (opening a malicious file).

MitigationOrganizations should apply the relevant Microsoft security update, avoid opening untrusted Publisher files, and consider upgrading to supported Office versions. Microsoft Office Protected View can provide additional mitigation.

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
PublisherApplication
Affected:= 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. Locate Microsoft Publisher executable
    Check for mspub.exe in typical Office installation paths: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11 (Publisher 2003) or C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 (Publisher 2007). Use Windows Explorer search or PowerShell: Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office' -Recurse -Filter 'mspub.exe' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Affected if mspub.exe exists and its version corresponds to Publisher 2003 or 2007
  2. Read Publisher version from executable
    Right-click mspub.exe, select Properties, go to Details tab, and note the 'Product version' and 'File version' fields. Alternatively, run: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office*\mspub.exe').VersionInfo | Select-Object ProductVersion, FileVersion
    Affected if Product version shows 11.0 (Publisher 2003) or 12.0 (Publisher 2007)
  3. Check Service Pack level for Publisher 2003
    Open Windows Registry Editor, navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\InstallRoot, and check the 'Version' value. Or open Publisher, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Publisher and look for SP3 mentioned. For registry: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\InstallRoot' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Affected if Service Pack 3 is installed (version 11.0.####.#### with SP3 mentioned in About dialog)
  4. Check Service Pack level for Publisher 2007
    Open Windows Registry Editor, navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Common\InstallRoot and check the 'Version' value. Or open Publisher, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Publisher and look for SP2 or SP3 mentioned. For registry: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Common\InstallRoot' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Affected if Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 is installed (version 12.0.####.#### with SP2/SP3 in About dialog)
  5. Confirm affected version range
    Compare your detected version and Service Pack against the affected versions: Publisher 2003 SP3 (exact version 11.0.#####.##### with SP3) or Publisher 2007 SP2/SP3 (exact version 12.0.#####.##### with SP2 or SP3). If your version matches exactly one of these, you are running a vulnerable version.
    Affected if Installed version is Publisher 2003 Service Pack 3 OR Publisher 2007 Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3

You are affected if Microsoft Publisher 2003 SP3 or Publisher 2007 SP2/SP3 is installed on your system.

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

Organizations should apply the relevant Microsoft security update, avoid opening untrusted Publisher files, and consider upgrading to supported Office versions. Microsoft Office Protected View can provide additional mitigation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or Office 2019 (any supported current Office version)

  1. Verify the currently installed Microsoft Publisher version by opening Publisher, clicking Help, and selecting About Microsoft Office Publisher
  2. Backup all critical Publisher files and templates before making any changes
  3. Uninstall Microsoft Publisher 2003 or 2007 through Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features
  4. Upgrade to a supported Microsoft Office version such as Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or Office 2019
  5. Ensure Windows is updated to the latest supported version before installing the new Office version
  6. After upgrading, open Microsoft Publisher and verify all existing files open correctly
  7. Enable automatic updates for Microsoft Office to receive future security patches
Caveat Upgrading from Office 2003/2007 to current versions will introduce significant UI changes, may remove compatibility with older file formats, and requires Windows 10 or Windows 11; macro and VBA code may require updates

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

Fix this in Publisher Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2011-1508 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