Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2009-3129

Microsoft Office Excel 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1 and SP2; Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Office Excel Viewer 2003 SP3; Office Excel Viewer SP1 and SP2; and Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1 and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a spreadsheet with a FEATHEADER record containing an invalid cbHdrData size element that affects a pointer offset, aka "Excel Featheader Record Memory Corruption Vulnerability."

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 4 products from microsoft, from microsoft, from microsoft and 1 other, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2009, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.

Published

2009-11-11T19:30:00.530

Last Modified

2025-10-22T01:15:34.800

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-787
Type: Secondary
CWE-787

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	microsoft	excel	2002	Yes
Application	microsoft	excel	2003	Yes
Application	microsoft	excel	2007	Yes
Application	microsoft	excel	2007	Yes
Application	microsoft	excel_viewer	-	Yes
Application	microsoft	excel_viewer	-	Yes
Application	microsoft	excel_viewer	2003	Yes
Application	microsoft	office	2004	Yes
Application	microsoft	office	2008	Yes
Application	microsoft	open_xml_file_format_converter	*	Yes

References

http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2009-11/0080.html Broken Link ([email protected])
http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=832 Broken Link ([email protected])
http://osvdb.org/59860 Broken Link ([email protected])
http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/14706 Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36945 Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1023157 Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-314A.html Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource ([email protected])
http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-083 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-067 Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6521 Broken Link ([email protected])
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2009-11/0080.html Broken Link (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=832 Broken Link (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://osvdb.org/59860 Broken Link (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/14706 Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36945 Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1023157 Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-314A.html Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-083 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-067 Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6521 Broken Link (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2009-3129 (134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For microsoft's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.