CVE-2009-0238
Improper Control of Generation of Code
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Description
Microsoft Office Excel 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1; Excel Viewer 2003 Gold and SP3; Excel Viewer; Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1; and Excel in Microsoft Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Excel document that triggers an access attempt on an invalid object, as exploited in the wild in February 2009 by Trojan.Mdropper.AC.
Official description from the CVE record, published by microsoft. Copyright © 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. See /security/cve/legal for the CVE license. View the record on cve.org
Key data
CVSS 3.1 High 8.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector: Network
The vulnerable component can be reached over a network, possibly from the Internet.
Attack complexity: Low
No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will.
Privileges required: None
No account or privileges are needed.
User interaction: Required
A user has to do something first, such as opening a file or following a link.
Scope: Unchanged
The impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality impact: High
Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data.
Integrity impact: High
Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data.
Availability impact: High
Serious or total effect on availability.
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | Network | The vulnerable component can be reached over a network, possibly from the Internet. |
| Attack complexity | Low | No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will. |
| Privileges required | None | No account or privileges are needed. |
| User interaction | Required | A user has to do something first, such as opening a file or following a link. |
| Scope | Unchanged | The impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality impact | High | Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data. |
| Integrity impact | High | Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data. |
| Availability impact | High | Serious or total effect on availability. |
CVSS is owned and managed by FIRST.Org, Inc. (FIRST) and is used by permission. Each CVSS score on this site is shown together with its vector string, as published in the CVE record by the source named next to it. Learn more at first.org/cvss.
EPSS
- Score
- 0.42941 (42.9% probability)
- Percentile
- 98.7%
- Scores of
- Nov 10, 2026
- Model
- v2026.06.15
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Name in the catalog
- Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution
- Added to the catalog
- Apr 14, 2026
- Federal due date
- Apr 28, 2026
CISA assessment as of Apr 14, 2026
- Exploitation
- Recorded by CISA as active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-94Improper Control of Generation of Code
References
- microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/968272.mspx
- ADV-2009-1023 (vupen.com)vdb-entry
- ms-excel-unspecified-code-execution(48875) (exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com)vdb-entry
- TA09-104A (us-cert.gov)third-party-advisory
- 33870 (securityfocus.com)vdb-entry
- symantec.com/business/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2…
- MS09-009 (docs.microsoft.com)vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:5968 (oval.cisecurity.org)vdb-entrysignature
- isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=5923
- 1021744 (securitytracker.com)vdb-entry
- blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2658
Timeline
- ID reserved
- Record published
- Added to CISA KEV
- Record last updated
Look up another CVE
About CubePath
Data from the CVE Program (MITRE), CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. CVSS is owned by FIRST and used by permission. Not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE, CISA or FIRST. Data as of Nov 10, 2026, 19:11 UTC. Sources and licenses