CVE-2013-1322
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Publisher 2003 SP3 does not properly check table range data, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Publisher file, aka "Publisher Invalid Range Check 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 confidenceMicrosoft Publisher 2003 SP3 fails to properly validate table range data when parsing .pub files, allowing a specially crafted file to trigger memory corruption and achieve arbitrary code execution on the victim's machine.
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= 2003CVSS 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Publisher 2003 installationOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Microsoft Office Publisher 2003' in the installed programs list, or run 'appwiz.cpl' and search for Publisher 2003Affected if Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 appears in installed programs
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Confirm exact Publisher versionLaunch Publisher 2003, go to Help > About Microsoft Office Publisher, note the version number displayed (should show version 11.0 for 2003)Affected if Version displays as 11.0 (the version number for Office 2003)
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Identify .pub file handlerCheck if .pub files are associated with Publisher 2003 by right-clicking any .pub file in Windows Explorer, selecting Properties, and viewing the 'Opens with' entryAffected if .pub files are associated with and open using Microsoft Publisher 2003
If Microsoft Publisher 2003 (version 11.0) is installed and configured to handle .pub files, the environment is vulnerable to this flaw when opening untrusted .pub files.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedBlock or restrict opening of untrusted .pub files at email gateways and endpoints; upgrade from the unsupported Publisher 2003 to a supported Microsoft Office version.
Microsoft Office 2007 or later (or apply MS13-030 security patch if staying on Publisher 2003)
- Identify all systems running Microsoft Publisher 2003 SP3 in the environment
- Obtain and install the appropriate Microsoft security update for CVE-2013-1322 from the Microsoft Security Response Center (MS13-030)
- Alternatively, upgrade Microsoft Office to a supported version (Office 2007, 2010, 2013, or Office 365) which includes the security fix
- After applying the update or upgrade, verify the installation was successful
- Test that legitimate Publisher files open and function correctly
- Distribute updated or new versions of Publisher to all affected users
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1322 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-1322 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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