dbcve.org
Office Compatibility PackApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2013-3858

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 Word Automation Services in SharePoint Server 2010 SP1, Word Web App 2010 SP1 in Office Web Apps 2010, Word 2003 SP3, Word 2007 SP3, Word 2010 SP1, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, and Word Viewer 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-2013-3847, CVE-2013-3848, and CVE-2013-3849.

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 Word allows remote code execution through specially crafted Office documents. Affected products include Word 2003/2007/2010 SP3/SP1, Office Compatibility Pack SP3, Word Viewer, Word Automation Services in SharePoint Server 2010 SP1, and Word Web App 2010 SP1.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS13-082 to all affected systems, and consider disabling Word Automation Services in SharePoint if not required, or blocking untrusted Office documents at email/web gateways.

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
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:all versions
WordApplication
Affected:= 2003= 2007= 2010
Word ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
Office Web AppsApplication
Affected:= 2010
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2010

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 Word version
    Open Word, go to File > Help, or check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration or the winword.exe file properties (right-click winword.exe in Program Files/Microsoft Office and select Properties)
    Affected if Word version is 2003, 2007, or 2010 (any service pack)
  2. Check for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats' in the list, or check registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\CompatibilityPack\InstallRoot
    Affected if Office Compatibility Pack is installed (any version)
  3. Verify Microsoft Word Viewer installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for 'Microsoft Word Viewer' in the installed programs list, or search for WordView.exe on the system
    Affected if Word Viewer is installed (any version)
  4. Check SharePoint Server 2010 for Word Automation Services
    Open SharePoint Central Administration > Application Management > Manage services on server, locate 'Word Automation Services' and verify if it is started
    Affected if SharePoint Server 2010 is running with Word Automation Services enabled
  5. Identify Microsoft Office Web Apps 2010 installation
    Check the installed programs on the server for 'Microsoft Office Web Apps' or check SharePoint Server 2010 farm configuration for Office Web Apps presence
    Affected if Office Web Apps 2010 or SharePoint Server 2010 with Office Web Apps is deployed

You are affected if any of the following are present: Word 2003/2007/2010 installed, Office Compatibility Pack installed, Word Viewer installed, SharePoint Server 2010 with Word Automation Services running, or Office Web Apps 2010 deployed.

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 MS13-082 to all affected systems, and consider disabling Word Automation Services in SharePoint if not required, or blocking untrusted Office documents at email/web gateways.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Update MS13-082 (specific Office/Word version appropriate to your installation)

  1. Locate the applicable Microsoft Security Bulletin for CVE-2013-3858 (MS13-082)
  2. Download the security update for your specific Microsoft Office/Word version from the Microsoft Security Response Center
  3. Apply the security update via Windows Update or manual installation
  4. Restart the affected system if prompted
  5. Verify the update was installed successfully via Windows Update history or Add/Remove Programs

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

Fix this in Office Compatibility Pack Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-3858 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2013-3858 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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