dbcve.org
OpenofficeApplication · Apache

CVE-2025-64403

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.1.16 or later.
See remediation →
88/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Apache OpenOffice Calc spreadsheet can contain links to other files, in the form of "external data sources". A missing Authorization vulnerability in Apache OpenOffice allowed an attacker to craft a document that would cause such links to be loaded without prompt. This issue affects Apache OpenOffice: through 4.1.15. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.1.16, which fixes the issue.

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

Apache OpenOffice Calc contains a missing authorization check that allows documents with external data source links to automatically load those external resources without prompting the user. An attacker could craft a malicious spreadsheet that silently loads data from attacker-controlled external sources, potentially enabling data exfiltration or further compromise.

MitigationUpgrade Apache OpenOffice to version 4.1.16 or later to remediate the authorization bypass in external data source link handling.

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
Affected:< 4.1.16

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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. Check installed Apache OpenOffice version
    Open Apache OpenOffice, go to Help > About to view the version number, or check the program files version metadata
    Affected if The version is lower than 4.1.16
  2. Identify Calc documents with external data links
    Examine .ods spreadsheet files for external data connections by inspecting the document structure or using Calc's Data > External Links dialog to list any linked data sources
    Affected if Documents contain references to external data sources pointing to untrusted or attacker-controlled locations
  3. Check automatic external data loading settings
    In Calc, go to Tools > Options > General and look for settings related to external data retrieval or link updates
    Affected if Automatic updating of external links is enabled without user confirmation prompts
  4. Review recent Calc file imports
    Examine recently opened .ods, .xls, or .xlsx files from external or untrusted sources for suspicious external link definitions
    Affected if Documents opened from untrusted sources contain embedded external data link definitions

You are affected if running Apache OpenOffice version lower than 4.1.16 AND you have opened or could open Calc documents containing external data source links.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.1.16 or later
Fixed in 4.1.16
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache OpenOffice to version 4.1.16 or later to remediate the authorization bypass in external data source link handling.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.1.16

  1. Download Apache OpenOffice version 4.1.16 from the official Apache OpenOffice website (www.openoffice.org)
  2. Close any running instances of Apache OpenOffice
  3. Run the installer for version 4.1.16
  4. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
  5. After installation, verify the version by going to Help > About Apache OpenOffice

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

Fix this in Openoffice Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-64403 — 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-2025-64403 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