dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2011-1988

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-09-15
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 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2; Excel in Office 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 parse records in Excel spreadsheets, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet, aka "Excel Heap 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

Heap corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel's record parsing functionality. A specially crafted Excel spreadsheet with malformed records triggers heap corruption during parsing, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via the malicious file.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS11-083 (or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Excel versions; avoid opening Excel files 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
ExcelApplication
Affected:= 2003= 2007
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004= 2007= 2008
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 2007
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 run: excel.exe /? to see version. Alternatively, check Programs and Features in Control Panel for Microsoft Excel entry.
    Affected if Version is 2003 or 2007 (exact version numbers vary by service pack)
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office app (Word, PowerPoint, etc.), go to File > Help, or check Programs and Features for Microsoft Office entry.
    Affected if Version is 2004, 2007, or 2008 for Mac
  3. Check for Microsoft Excel Viewer installation
    Search for ExcelView.exe in Program Files, or check Programs and Features for 'Microsoft Excel Viewer'.
    Affected if Excel Viewer is installed (any version)
  4. Check for Office Compatibility Pack installation
    Check Programs and Features for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint' entry.
    Affected if Version is 2007
  5. Check for Open Xml File Format Converter installation
    Search for the converter application or check installed programs for 'Microsoft Open XML File Format Converter'.
    Affected if Converter is installed (any version)

If any of the above products with the specified affected versions are installed and the system opens or parses Excel files, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2011-1988.

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 update MS11-083 (or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Excel versions; avoid opening Excel files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft Office 2010 or later (or latest supported Office 365/Office 2019/Office 2021 depending on deployment timeline)

  1. Upgrade Microsoft Office to the latest supported version to obtain security updates that address this vulnerability
  2. For legacy products that cannot be fully upgraded, apply the specific Microsoft security update associated with this CVE (MS11-072) from Microsoft Update or the Microsoft Security Response Center
  3. Ensure Microsoft Excel, Excel Viewer, and Office Compatibility Pack are all patched to the latest available service packs and security updates
  4. After patching, verify the update was applied successfully via Windows Update or the installed programs list
Caveat Legacy file format compatibility issues may arise when upgrading Office versions; ensure compatibility testing with existing workflows and third-party integrations before deployment

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

Fix this in Excel 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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1988 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2011-1988 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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