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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2012-0184

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 and 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 SXLI Record 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 handling of the SXLI record when parsing specially crafted spreadsheet files. When a user opens a malicious .xls file, the corrupted SXLI record causes Excel to write to invalid memory locations, potentially allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the user's privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS12-030 (or subsequent superseded updates) to all affected Excel installations; until patched, users should not open spreadsheet files from untrusted sources.

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= 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 if Microsoft Excel is installed
    On Windows, open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell to list installed programs. On Mac, check /Applications for Microsoft Excel.app.
    Affected if Excel is listed as installed and the version is 2003, 2007, or 2010.
  2. Determine the installed Excel version number
    Right-click excel.exe (typically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX) and select Properties > Details to view the File Version. On Mac, right-click Microsoft Excel.app in Applications and select Get Info.
    Affected if The file version corresponds to Excel 2003, 2007, or 2010 (for example, versions like 11.0.xxxx for Excel 2003, 12.0.xxxx for Excel 2007, or 14.0.xxxx for Excel 2010).
  3. Check if Microsoft Excel Viewer is installed
    On Windows, search for 'Excel Viewer' in Programs and Features, or check for ExcelView.exe in typical locations such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Excel Viewer or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Excel Viewer.
    Affected if Excel Viewer is installed (all versions of Excel Viewer are affected per the CVE).
  4. Check if Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 or 2011 is installed
    On Mac, open Finder > Applications and look for Microsoft Office 2008 or Microsoft Office 2011 folders, or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i microsoft' in Terminal.
    Affected if Microsoft Office 2008 or Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac is installed.
  5. Check if Office Compatibility Pack is installed
    On Windows, search for 'Office Compatibility Pack' in Programs and Features, or check for ExcelCnv.exe. The Compatibility Pack is typically installed as part of Microsoft Office and adds .xlsx support to Excel 2003.
    Affected if The Office Compatibility Pack is listed in installed programs (all versions are affected).

Your environment is affected if any version of Microsoft Excel 2003, 2007, or 2010, Excel Viewer, Microsoft Office 2008/2011 for Mac, or the Office Compatibility Pack is installed and remains unpatched with MS12-030 or a subsequent security update.

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 update MS12-030 (or subsequent superseded updates) to all affected Excel installations; until patched, users should not open spreadsheet files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Office 2013 or later, or apply MS12-030 security update

  1. Install Microsoft Security Update MS12-030 (released May 8, 2012) which addresses this vulnerability
  2. For Excel 2003: Apply KB2597963
  3. For Excel 2007: Apply KB2597966
  4. For Excel 2010: Apply KB2598244
  5. For Excel Viewer: Apply KB2597975
  6. For Office Compatibility Pack: Apply KB2597975
  7. For Office 2008 for Mac: Apply KB2664116
  8. For Office 2011 for Mac: Apply KB2664115
Caveat The MS12-030 patches apply to the affected versions listed; upgrading Office may require newer Windows/macOS versions and migration of existing documents

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

Fix this in Excel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2012-0184 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