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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2012-0141

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-05-09
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, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Office 2011 for Mac; Excel Viewer; and Office Compatibility Pack SP2 and SP3 do not properly handle memory during the opening of files, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet, aka "Excel File Format 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

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel's file parsing logic. When opening specially crafted spreadsheet files (.xls), Excel fails to properly handle memory allocation during file parsing, allowing an attacker to overwrite memory and execute arbitrary code with the user's privileges.

MitigationUsers should not open untrusted or unexpected Excel files from untrusted sources. Organizations should deploy Microsoft's security updates (MS12-076) to all affected Microsoft Office products immediately, as this vulnerability is being actively exploited in targeted attacks.

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2011
Office Compatibility PackApplication
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. Check Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel application, click File > Account > About Excel, or view installed programs in Windows Control Panel to find the exact version number (such as 11.0, 12.0, or 14.0)
    Affected if Version corresponds to Excel 2003, Excel 2007, or Excel 2010
  2. Check Microsoft Office version on Mac
    Open any Office application (such as Word or PowerShell), go to the application menu > About, to verify if Office version 2011 is installed
    Affected if Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac is installed
  3. Check for Microsoft Excel Viewer
    Search for Excel Viewer in installed programs via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check Program Files for Excel Viewer folder
    Affected if Microsoft Excel Viewer of any version is installed
  4. Check for Office Compatibility Pack
    Search for Office Compatibility Pack in installed programs via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check for Excelconv.exe in Office installation directories
    Affected if Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack is installed

Environment is affected if any installed product matches Excel 2003/2007/2010, Excel Viewer (any version), Office 2011, or Office Compatibility Pack, since all these allow opening .xls files and are vulnerable to the parsing memory corruption flaw.

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

Users should not open untrusted or unexpected Excel files from untrusted sources. Organizations should deploy Microsoft's security updates (MS12-076) to all affected Microsoft Office products immediately, as this vulnerability is being actively exploited in targeted attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

For Office 2011 for Mac, upgrade to Office 2016 or later (Office 365 subscription)

  1. Locate and download the appropriate Microsoft security update for your installed version of Office/Excel from the Microsoft Update Catalog or Windows Update
  2. For Excel 2003: Apply security update KB2687480
  3. For Excel 2007: Apply security update KB2687480
  4. For Excel 2010: Apply security update KB2687480
  5. For Excel Viewer: Apply security update KB2687480
  6. For Office Compatibility Pack: Apply security update KB2687480
  7. For Office 2011 for Mac: Apply the equivalent security update from Microsoft or upgrade to a newer Office version
  8. Restart the computer after applying updates
Caveat Patches are cumulative; ensure all previous security updates for the Office version are applied to avoid compatibility issues

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.

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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-2012-0141 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
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