CVE-2011-3411
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 Publisher 2003 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Publisher file that leverages incorrect handling of values in memory, aka "Publisher Invalid Pointer 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 confidenceMicrosoft Publisher 2003 SP3 contains a memory corruption vulnerability where the application incorrectly handles values in memory when parsing specially crafted Publisher files. An attacker can exploit this by enticing a user to open a malicious .pub file, leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the targeted user.
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= 2003CVSS 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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Verify Microsoft Publisher 2003 is installedCheck the Windows Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Publisher\InstallRoot, or look for the executable at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Publisher 2003\MSPUB.EXEAffected if The registry key exists or the executable file is present, indicating Publisher 2003 is installed
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Confirm the exact Publisher 2003 versionRight-click MSPUB.EXE, select Properties, then view the Version tab to read the File Version (for example, 11.0.xxxx)Affected if The version shown is 11.0.xxxx and matches the Publisher 2003 release (no service pack version string displayed)
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Check if patch MS11-091 is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run: wmic qfe get hotfixid | findstr "KB2583012"Affected if The update KB2583012 (MS11-091) is NOT listed among installed updates, meaning the security patch is absent
The system is affected if Microsoft Publisher 2003 is installed and the MS11-091 security patch (KB2583012) has not been applied.
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.
From vendor dataApply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-091 (or subsequent cumulative updates) which addresses this vulnerability, or upgrade to a newer version of Microsoft Office/Publisher that is no longer affected.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3411 — 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-2011-3411 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