dbcve.org
ExcelApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2014-6361

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-12-11
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 Excel 2007 SP3, Excel 2010 SP2, Excel 2013 Gold and SP1, Excel 2013 RT Gold and SP1, and Office Compatibility Pack allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Office document, aka "Excel Invalid Pointer 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

A remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Excel caused by an invalid pointer when parsing specially crafted Office documents. An attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution by enticing a user to open a malicious Excel file, spreadsheet, or Office document.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS14-082) for affected Excel versions. Additionally, configure Office Protected View settings and educate users to avoid opening untrusted Office documents from unknown sources.

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:= 2007= 2010= 2013
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. Identify installed Microsoft Excel version
    Open Excel, go to File > Account > About Excel, or open Control Panel > Programs and Features > Microsoft Office to view installed Office products and their versions
    Affected if The version listed is Excel 2007, Excel 2010, or Excel 2013 (any build within these version families)
  2. Check for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats' in the installed programs list
    Affected if The Compatibility Pack is installed (all versions are affected)
  3. Verify file association handling for Excel documents
    Check which applications are associated with .xls, .xlsx, and .xlsm file extensions by right-clicking any Excel file > Properties > Opens with, or via Default Programs in Control Panel
    Affected if The default opener is a vulnerable Excel version (2007, 2010, or 2013) or the Compatibility Pack
  4. Assess user document handling practices
    Review whether users in the environment commonly receive and open Excel attachments from external sources, email, or untrusted network locations
    Affected if Users routinely open Excel files from untrusted or unknown sources without security vetting
  5. Audit recent Excel file opening activity
    Check Windows Event Logs (Application and Security logs) for Excel executable (EXCEL.EXE) activity, particularly event IDs related to application crashes or macro execution warnings
    Affected if Excel is being used to open files from external or untrusted sources, indicating potential exposure to malformed document exploits

Your environment is affected if you have Excel 2007, 2010, or 2013 installed, or the Office Compatibility Pack is present, AND users in your environment open Excel documents from untrusted or external sources.

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 (MS14-082) for affected Excel versions. Additionally, configure Office Protected View settings and educate users to avoid opening untrusted Office documents from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. Navigate to the Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-084 at https://docs.microsoft.com/security-updates/securitybulletins/
  2. Locate the security update for your affected Excel version: KB2726924 for Excel 2007 SP3, KB2726925 for Excel 2010 SP2, or KB2726926 for Excel 2013/Excel 2013 SP1
  3. Download and install the appropriate KB update for your installed Excel version
  4. Restart the computer after installation
  5. Verify the update was installed successfully via Windows Update > View update history

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
Get help mitigating

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

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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-2014-6361 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