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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2012-0158

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2012-04-10
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Patch available

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
The (1) ListView, (2) ListView2, (3) TreeView, and (4) TreeView2 ActiveX controls in MSCOMCTL.OCX in the Common Controls in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Office 2003 Web Components SP3; SQL Server 2000 SP4, 2005 SP4, and 2008 SP2, SP3, and R2; BizTalk Server 2002 SP1; Commerce Server 2002 SP4, 2007 SP2, and 2009 Gold and R2; Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1 and 9.0 SP2; and Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (a) web site, (b) Office document, or (c) .rtf file that triggers "system state" corruption, as exploited in the wild in April 2012, aka "MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE 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

Vulnerability in MSCOMCTL.OCX ActiveX controls (ListView, ListView2, TreeView, TreeView2) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via malicious web sites, Office documents, or RTF files that trigger system state corruption. Affects multiple Microsoft products including Office 2003/2007/2010, SQL Server, BizTalk Server, and Commerce Server.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for affected products; alternatively, disable ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer or deploy exploit mitigation tools such as Windows Defender Exploit Guard (EMET).

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
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2003= 2007= 2010
Office Web ComponentsApplication
Affected:= 2003
Sql Server 2000Application
Affected:all versions
Sql Server 2005Application
Affected:all versions
Sql Server 2008Application
Affected:all versions= r2
Biztalk ServerApplication
Affected:= 2002
Commerce ServerApplication
Affected:= 2002= 2007
Commerce Server 2009Application
Affected:all versions= r2

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Locate MSCOMCTL.OCX on the system
    Search for the file MSCOMCTL.OCX in system directories. Typical paths include C:\Windows\System32\ and C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ on 64-bit systems. Use command: dir /s C:\MSCOMCTL.OCX or search via Windows Explorer.
    Affected if The file exists and its version corresponds to vulnerable releases of the ActiveX control.
  2. Check installed Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), go to File > Account > About [AppName], or run winver.exe. Check if version is 2003, 2007, or 2010.
    Affected if Office 2003, 2007, or 2010 is installed and MSCOMCTL.OCX with vulnerable code is present.
  3. Check Microsoft Office Web Components version
    Look for msowc.dll or owc10.dll/o wc11.dll in Office installation directories or System32. Right-click > Properties > Details to view version.
    Affected if Office Web Components 2003 is installed.
  4. Check SQL Server installations
    Open SQL Server Configuration Manager or SQL Server Management Studio. Look for instances of SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008, or 2008 R2. Run: SELECT @@VERSION in SSMS for each instance.
    Affected if Any version of SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008, or 2008 R2 is installed with the vulnerable ActiveX control.
  5. Check BizTalk Server and Commerce Server installations
    Check installed programs in Control Panel > Programs and Features, or look for BizTalk Server or Commerce Server in Start menu. Verify versions 2002 or 2007/2009 as applicable.
    Affected if BizTalk Server 2002 or Commerce Server 2002, 2007, or 2009 (including R2) is installed.
  6. Verify ActiveX control execution environment
    In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level. Check 'Enable' or 'Prompt' settings under ActiveX controls and plug-ins. Also check Office Trust Center settings for ActiveX preferences.
    Affected if ActiveX controls are enabled in Internet Explorer or Office settings without restrictions, allowing the vulnerable MSCOMCTL.OCX controls to execute.

A system is affected if it has any of the listed product versions installed AND the MSCOMCTL.OCX ActiveX control is present and accessible, particularly if ActiveX execution is not restricted.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for affected products; alternatively, disable ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer or deploy exploit mitigation tools such as Windows Defender Exploit Guard (EMET).

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-027 and subsequent security updates

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-027, which addresses the MSCOMCTL.OCX RCE vulnerability
  2. For Office products (2003, 2007, 2010), install the relevant security update from MS12-027
  3. For SQL Server affected versions, apply the corresponding MS12-027 update
  4. For BizTalk Server 2002 and Commerce Server versions, apply MS12-027 or later cumulative security updates
  5. Verify the MSCOMCTL.OCX version after patching to confirm the vulnerability is addressed
  6. For systems that cannot be patched immediately, consider disabling ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer or using the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET)
Caveat Applying security updates carries minimal risk but should be tested in a staging environment before production deployment, particularly on older systems like SQL Server 2000 and BizTalk Server 2002 which may have compatibility considerations

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

Fix this in Office Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2012-0158 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