dbcve.org
PublisherApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2014-1759

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-04-08
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
pubconv.dll in Microsoft Publisher 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (incorrect pointer dereference and application crash) via a crafted .pub file, aka "Arbitrary Pointer Dereference 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

pubconv.dll in Microsoft Publisher 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP3 contains an arbitrary pointer dereference vulnerability when parsing specially crafted .pub files. A remote attacker can exploit this by tricking a user into opening a malicious .pub file, leading to either arbitrary code execution with the user's privileges or denial of service via application crash.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability (MS14-023) and avoid opening .pub files from untrusted or unknown sources. Organizations should patch affected Publisher installations promptly.

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
PublisherApplication
Affected:= 2003= 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. Verify Microsoft Publisher is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for Microsoft Publisher in the installed programs list; or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\*\Common\InstallRoot -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' in PowerShell to check for Office installations
    Affected if Microsoft Publisher 2003 or 2007 is listed as installed
  2. Check Publisher application version
    Locate the Publisher executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11 for 2003 or Office12 for 2007), right-click and select Properties, then check the Version tab; or use PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office*\MSPUB.EXE' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).VersionInfo
    Affected if The reported File Version corresponds to Microsoft Publisher 2003 or 2007 (exact versions as listed in your installed programs)
  3. Locate the vulnerable pubconv.dll component
    Search for pubconv.dll on the system using File Explorer search or by running 'Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office' -Recurse -Filter 'pubconv.dll' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' in PowerShell
    Affected if The pubconv.dll file exists in any Microsoft Office directory, confirming the vulnerable component is present
  4. Confirm .pub file association and handling
    Right-click any .pub file, select Properties, then check 'Opens with' to confirm Publisher is the default handler; or check registry at HKCR:\.pub to see the file type association
    Affected if Microsoft Publisher is configured as the default handler for .pub files, meaning the application will attempt to parse files opened by the user

You are affected if Microsoft Publisher 2003 or 2007 is installed and configured to handle .pub files, which allows the specially crafted file to trigger the arbitrary pointer dereference in pubconv.dll.

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 this vulnerability (MS14-023) and avoid opening .pub files from untrusted or unknown sources. Organizations should patch affected Publisher installations promptly.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021 (any currently supported Office version that includes Publisher)

  1. 1. Identify all systems with Microsoft Publisher 2003 or 2007 installed.
  2. 2. Uninstall Microsoft Publisher 2003 and/or 2007 from affected systems.
  3. 3. Install a currently supported version of Microsoft Office (such as Microsoft 365, Office 2019, or Office 2021) which includes Publisher.
  4. 4. Ensure the updated Microsoft Office installation includes the latest security updates.
  5. 5. Verify that .pub file handling now uses the updated, secure pubconv.dll or equivalent component.
  6. 6. Test that normal Publisher functionality works with the new version.
Caveat Microsoft Publisher 2003/2007 features and file formats may not be fully compatible with newer versions; legacy .pub files may require conversion; older templates and macros may need updating

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

Fix this in Publisher Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2014-1759 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