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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2012-0142

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 2008 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 in OBJECTLINK Record 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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Excel's handling of OBJECTLINK records when opening specially crafted spreadsheet files. The improper memory handling during file parsing allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code by enticing a user to open a malicious Excel file.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for affected Office products; users should not open untrusted Excel files from unknown sources. Consider disabling or restricting Excel's ability to open files from external sources as an additional defense.

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:= 2008
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. Identify installed Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel, or run 'winword /?' from command prompt (word accesses Office version info), or check registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Application\CLSID and look up version under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID}\Version
    Affected if Version matches 2003, 2007, or 2010 (e.g., 11.0, 12.0, 14.0)
  2. Check if Microsoft Excel Viewer is installed
    Look for ExcelViewer installation at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\ExcelViewer\XLVIEW.EXE, or check registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ExcelViewer.Application
    Affected if Excel Viewer is present on the system (any version)
  3. Check if Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack is installed
    Look for presence of Excel converter files in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\XLCONV.EXE or check registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Application\Compatibility
    Affected if Office Compatibility Pack is installed (any version)
  4. Verify if Excel can open external files
    Check Excel Trust Center settings under File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > External Content, or inspect group policy settings for Office file handling restrictions
    Affected if Excel is configured to automatically open files from external or untrusted sources without prompting

Your environment is affected if you have any of the following installed: Excel 2003/2007/2010, Excel Viewer (any version), or Office Compatibility Pack (any version), AND users can open Excel files from external or untrusted sources.

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 for affected Office products; users should not open untrusted Excel files from unknown sources. Consider disabling or restricting Excel's ability to open files from external sources as an additional defense.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-030 patches for your respective product version (2003/2007/2010). For long-term security, migrate to supported versions of Microsoft Office (Office 365 or current supported perpetual licenses).

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-030, which addresses this vulnerability in Microsoft Excel and Office products. Download and install the appropriate update for your product version from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2012/ms12-030
  2. For Excel 2003 SP3: Install the security update from MS12-030 (KB2597974)
  3. For Excel 2007 SP2/SP3: Install the security update from MS12-030 (KB2597952)
  4. For Excel 2010 Gold/SP1: Install the security update from MS12-030 (KB2553073)
  5. For Office 2008 for Mac: Install the security update from MS12-030 (KB2663826)
  6. For Excel Viewer: Install the security update from MS12-030 (KB2553075)
  7. For Office Compatibility Pack SP2/SP3: Install the security update from MS12-030 (KB2597952)
  8. After applying patches, restart affected systems and verify the updates installed successfully via Windows Update or Add/Remove Programs
Caveat This is a security patch for legacy products. Ensure compatibility testing with existing workflows before deployment in production environments.

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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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-2012-0142 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