Microsoft · Office
CVE-2009-0563
Microsoft Office Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
What it is
Stack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Office Word 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1 and SP2; Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 and 2008; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003 SP3; Microsoft Office Word Viewer; and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1 and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Word document with a crafted tag containing an invalid length field, aka "Word Buffer Overflow Vulnerability."
CISA: Microsoft Office contains a buffer overflow vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute code via a Word document with a crafted tag containing an invalid length field.
What to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Deadline for US federal agencies: June 22, 2022
- Added to the CISA list
- June 8, 2022
- Published
- June 10, 2009
- Severity
- High 7.8 CVSS 3.1
- Chance of attacks in the next 30 days (EPSS)
- 60% in the top 0.9% of all known vulnerabilities
- Weakness
- CWE-119
- More details
- NVD · CVE.org · CISA
All references (9)
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-027
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6133
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35188
- http://osvdb.org/54959
- http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-035
- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-160A.html
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022356
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1546
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/504204/100/0/threaded
More exploited flaws from Microsoft
| Added | Vulnerability | Product | Severity | Attack chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2026 | Remote Code Execution | Office | High 8.8 | 43% |
| Feb 10, 2026 | Word Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision | Office | High 7.8 | 1.6% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | Security Feature Bypass | Office | High 7.8 | 71% |
| Jan 7, 2026 | PowerPoint Code Injection | Office | High 8.8 | 67% |
| Aug 12, 2025 | Excel Remote Code Execution | Office | High 8.8 | 43% |
| Mar 14, 2023 | Outlook Privilege Escalation | Office | Critical 9.8 | 97% |
| Feb 14, 2023 | Publisher Security Feature Bypass | Office | High 7.3 | 12% |
| Jun 8, 2022 | Object Record Corruption | Office | High 7.8 | 53% |
Sources: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (CISA, public domain), CVE records (cve.org) and EPSS (FIRST). The chance of attacks is the EPSS estimate that someone will try to exploit the flaw in the next 30 days.