OpenofficeApplication · Apache
CVE-2016-6803
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 · uneditedAn installer defect known as an "unquoted Windows search path vulnerability" affected the Apache OpenOffice before 4.1.3 installers for Windows. The PC must have previously been infected by a Trojan Horse application (or user) running with administrative privilege. Any installer with the unquoted search path vulnerability becomes a delayed trigger for the exploit.
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 confidenceThis is an unquoted Windows search path vulnerability in Apache OpenOffice installers before version 4.1.3. When the installer executes, Windows attempts to locate executables in intermediate directories within unquoted paths containing spaces, allowing an attacker with prior administrative-level code execution (e.g., via Trojan Horse) to place a malicious executable in those paths for delayed execution when the installer runs.
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
OpenofficeApplication
<= 4.1.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 OpenOffice installation existsCheck for OpenOffice installation directories (e.g., C:\Program Files\OpenOffice4 or C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenOffice4) or look for OpenOffice entries in Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UninstallAffected if No OpenOffice installation found means this specific vulnerability does not apply
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Determine installed OpenOffice versionLocate the version information in the installation: check the file properties of soffice.exe (right-click > Properties > Details tab) or read the version from the OpenOffice registry or about dialog if the application is accessibleAffected if Unable to determine version cannot confirm vulnerability status
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Compare version against affected rangeCompare the installed version number to 4.1.2. Versions are typically displayed as major.minor.patch (e.g., 4.1.2, 4.1.1, 4.0.0)Affected if Version is 4.1.2 or lower (e.g., 4.1.2, 4.1.1, 4.0.x) means the installer is vulnerable to unquoted path exploitation
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Assess post-exploitation contextReview system for indicators of prior administrative-level compromise (suspicious executables in temp directories, unknown services, or unauthorized scheduled tasks) as this vulnerability serves as a persistence mechanism rather than an initial infection vectorAffected if System already compromised with admin-level malware AND OpenOffice version <= 4.1.2 means attacker could leverage this for delayed execution
You are affected if Apache OpenOffice version 4.1.2 or earlier is installed on the system, particularly in an environment where prior administrative-level compromise may have occurred.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade to OpenOffice 4.1.3 or later which contains the patched installer; primarily, ensure systems are not compromised with administrative-level malware in the first place, as this vulnerability is a post-exploitation persistence mechanism rather than an initial infection vector.
Fix this in Openoffice
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,144.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6803 — 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-2016-6803 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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