Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution
n/a — n/a
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.
8.8
43.1%
Vector breakdown
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Published
- Feb 25, 2009
- Modified
- Apr 15, 2026
- Added to KEV
- Apr 14, 2026
- Federal patch due
- Apr 28, 2026
CISA required action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Weakness classification
Proof-of-concept & exploitation references
Weaponization
Public repositories whose name or description references CVE-2009-0238, found via a live GitHub search at request time. These are community-sourced signals, not a verified working exploit - cross-check each one before relying on it, and treat higher star counts and recent activity as (weak) corroboration, not proof.
No public GitHub repositories referencing CVE-2009-0238 were found at last check. Absence here is not proof no exploit exists - see the references below for vendor advisories and write-ups.
References
Frequently asked questions
What is CVE-2009-0238?
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.
How severe is CVE-2009-0238?
CVE-2009-0238 has a CVSS base score of 8.8 out of 10 (CVSS 3.1).
Is CVE-2009-0238 actively exploited in the wild?
Yes. CVE-2009-0238 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added Apr 14, 2026, meaning CISA has confirmed evidence of active exploitation.
What is the EPSS score for CVE-2009-0238?
43.1% - meaning FIRST.org's EPSS model estimates a 43.1% probability this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within 30 days (99% percentile among all scored CVEs).
What type of vulnerability is CVE-2009-0238?
CVE-2009-0238 is classified under CWE-94 (CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')).
Cross-checked against
Impactr finds and proves whether CVE-2009-0238 - or flaws like it - are actually reachable in your own web apps and APIs, with a reproducible exploit as evidence.
Join the waitlist