dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2011-1989

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; Excel 2010 Gold and SP1; Excel in Office 2010 Gold and SP1; Office 2004, 2008, and 2011 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Excel Viewer SP2; Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP2; Excel Services on Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP2; Excel Services on Office SharePoint Server 2010 Gold and SP1; and Excel Web App 2010 Gold and SP1 do not properly parse conditional expressions associated with formatting requirements, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet, aka "Excel Conditional Expression Parsing 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 Excel and related Office products fail to properly parse conditional expressions associated with formatting requirements. This allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening specially crafted spreadsheet files.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates immediately. Until patches are deployed, exercise caution with unsolicited Excel files and consider disabling macro execution and external content in Office applications.

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= 2010
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
Excel Web AppApplication
Affected:= 2010
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2004= 2007= 2008= 2010= 2011
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:= 2007
Open Xml File Format ConverterApplication
Affected:all versions
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010

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 Excel or Office product
    Open the application (Excel, Office suite, or related product), then access Help > About or use the file properties to determine the exact version number and build
    Affected if The installed version matches 2003, 2007, or 2010 for Excel; 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, or 2011 for Office; or falls within any version for Excel Viewer, Excel Web App 2010, Office Compatibility Pack 2007, Open Xml File Format Converter, or Sharepoint Server 2007/2010
  2. Confirm the vulnerable component is present
    Verify that Microsoft Excel or the affected Office component is installed and functional on the system
    Affected if Excel or the affected Office component is installed and enabled for use
  3. Determine if the system processes untrusted files
    Review whether users on this system routinely open Excel files from external sources, email attachments, or untrusted network locations
    Affected if Users open Excel spreadsheet files from untrusted or unsolicited sources without prior validation

The system is affected if any vulnerable Excel or Office product version listed in the affected products is installed and users can open potentially malicious spreadsheet files.

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 immediately. Until patches are deployed, exercise caution with unsolicited Excel files and consider disabling macro execution and external content in Office applications.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft 365 (current) or Office 2021/Office 2019 perpetual - any supported Office version that receives security updates

  1. 1. Identify all systems with affected Excel, Office, or SharePoint installations listed in the CVE scope
  2. 2. Inventory current versions to determine which systems are running vulnerable releases (Excel 2003 SP3, Excel 2007 SP2, Excel 2010 Gold/SP1, Office 2004/2007/2008/2010, or older)
  3. 3. For Office 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2011 for Mac and Open XML File Format Converter: migrate to supported Microsoft 365 or Office 2016/2019/2021 perpetual license
  4. 4. For Excel 2003/2007/2010: upgrade to Excel 2016 or later via Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021 perpetual license
  5. 5. For Excel Viewer: uninstall and use Microsoft Excel with Microsoft 365 or a supported Office version instead
  6. 6. For SharePoint Server 2007/2010: upgrade to SharePoint Server 2016, 2019, or Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online
  7. 7. For Excel Web App 2010: migrate to Microsoft 365 with SharePoint Online or upgrade to SharePoint Server 2016+
  8. 8. For Office Compatibility Pack 2007: migrate to Microsoft 365 which includes compatibility support
Caveat Legacy Office features, macros, and add-ins may require testing or migration; some old file formats may display compatibility warnings; Office 2004/2008 for Mac are fully retired with no migration path

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2011-1989 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