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OfficeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2013-3854

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-09-11
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 Office 2007 SP3 and Word 2007 SP3 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted Office document, aka "Word Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-3853.

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 Office 2007 SP3 and Word 2007 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via a crafted malicious Office document. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of specially crafted files during parsing.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Office 2007/Word 2007, or migrate to supported Office versions. Exercise caution with untrusted or unsolicited Office documents.

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:= 2007
WordApplication
Affected:= 2007

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 Office version
    Open Word or any Office application, click File > Help, and look for the version information under 'Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007' or similar. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features) for 'Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007'.
    Affected if The version shown is Microsoft Office 2007 or Microsoft Word 2007 (any SP level).
  2. Confirm Word 2007 component version
    Open Microsoft Word 2007, click the Office button > Word Options > Resources > About Microsoft Office Word. Note the exact version number displayed (for example, 12.0.xxxx).
    Affected if The version begins with 12.0, indicating Office/Word 2007.
  3. Determine Service Pack level
    In the Help > About dialog, look for text indicating 'Service Pack 3' or check the installed updates via Windows Update history or Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates for 'Service Pack 3 for Microsoft Office'.
    Affected if The installation is at Service Pack 3 (SP3) level specifically, as noted in the CVE.
  4. Verify document parsing is active
    This vulnerability is triggered when Word opens and parses specially crafted files. Ensure no untrusted documents are opened. Check if the application normally handles .doc files without error.
    Affected if Word 2007 is capable of opening and parsing .doc or .docx files, which is the attack vector for this flaw.

You are affected if Microsoft Office 2007 or Word 2007 (version 12.0) with Service Pack 3 is installed and the application can parse maliciously crafted documents.

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 Office 2007/Word 2007, or migrate to supported Office versions. Exercise caution with untrusted or unsolicited Office documents.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Office 2007 with Security Update KB2827324 applied (or upgrade to a supported Office version such as Office 365)

  1. Navigate to the Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-084 (https://technet.microsoft.com/security/bulletin/ms13-084)
  2. Download and install the security update for Microsoft Office 2007 (KB2827324)
  3. Restart the computer after applying the update
  4. Verify the update was installed successfully via Windows Update or by checking the installed updates list
  5. Alternatively, ensure Windows Update is enabled and set to automatically download and install security updates
Caveat Office 2007 reached end of extended support in October 2017; no further security updates will be provided unless the system is enrolled in Microsoft's Custom Support Agreement (CSA) - upgrading to a currently supported Office version is strongly recommended

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

Fix this in Office Scoped from the published advisory
  • 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-2013-3854 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