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ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2012-1847

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 Series Record Parsing Type Mismatch Could Result in Remote Code Execution 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 parsing of Series Record data within spreadsheet files. When opening a specially crafted .xls file, the application fails to properly validate data types during parsing, leading to a type mismatch that can be exploited to achieve remote code execution with the user's privileges.

MitigationApply the appropriate Microsoft security update (MS12-076) to all affected Microsoft Office installations. Until patched, instruct users not to open untrusted or unexpected Excel files, and consider deploying the Office File Validation add-in as an additional safeguard.

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 Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Help, and note the version number under 'About Microsoft Excel', or run 'winword /?' from command prompt to check Office component versions
    Affected if Version is 2003, 2007, or 2010 (these versions lack the MS12-076 patch)
  2. Check Microsoft Office version
    Open any Office application, go to File > Account > About [App], or check Programs and Features for Microsoft Office installations
    Affected if Office version is 2008 for Mac or 2011 for Mac (these versions lack the MS12-076 patch)
  3. Check for Excel Viewer installation
    Open Programs and Features in Control Panel or use 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product' to list installed software, look for 'Microsoft Excel Viewer'
    Affected if Excel Viewer is installed (all versions are affected)
  4. Check for Office Compatibility Pack
    Open Programs and Features or check installed software list for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, PowerPoint 2007 File Formats'
    Affected if Compatibility Pack is installed (all versions are affected)
  5. Verify MS12-076 security update status
    Open Windows Update > View update history, or run 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -like "Security Update"}' and look for KB2597115 (Excel 2003/2007/2010) or KB2597161 (Office 2008/2011 for Mac)
    Affected if The corresponding security update for your Office/Excel version is NOT installed

You are affected if any version of Excel 2003/2007/2010, Office 2008/2011, Excel Viewer, or Office Compatibility Pack is installed AND the MS12-076 security update is missing.

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 the appropriate Microsoft security update (MS12-076) to all affected Microsoft Office installations. Until patched, instruct users not to open untrusted or unexpected Excel files, and consider deploying the Office File Validation add-in as an additional safeguard.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to a supported Microsoft Office version (Office 365 or Office 2016/2019/2021); or apply MS12-030 security patches for legacy versions

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-030, which addresses this vulnerability along with other Excel vulnerabilities. Download and install the appropriate update for your version from the Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-030 (May 8, 2012).
  2. For Excel 2003 SP3: Install update KB2597974
  3. For Excel 2007 SP2 and SP3: Install update KB2597962
  4. For Excel 2010 Gold and SP1: Install update KB2553154
  5. For Office 2008 for Mac: Install update (check MS12-030 for Mac specific patches)
  6. For Office 2011 for Mac: Install update (check MS12-030 for Mac specific patches)
  7. For Excel Viewer: Install update KB2597974
  8. For Office Compatibility Pack SP2 and SP3: Install update KB2597962
Caveat Legacy Office versions (2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011) are past mainstream support; applying patches maintains security but does not provide new features; consider migration to supported Office versions for ongoing support

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2012-1847 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