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9.3

Microsoft Office 2003/2007 could load malicious DLLs

CVE-2011-1980 · published 15 years ago
Summary

If a user opens a Word, PowerPoint or Excel file from a folder that also contains a specially crafted library file, Office may load that library instead of the trusted one. This can let a local user run code with higher privileges on the computer. To protect against this, apply the latest updates from Microsoft and avoid opening documents from untrusted locations.

What to do

The CVE record does not list a fixed version. Check the vendor's site or the advisory links below - a fix may already be released.

Affected software
VendorProductAffected versions
microsoft office 2003
2007
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2003:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
Original advisory text
Untrusted search path vulnerability in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a dir...
Untrusted search path vulnerability in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .doc, .ppt, or .xls file, aka "Office Component Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability."
References
Fix within
Internet-facing 14 days
Internal At next upgrade
  • Not known to be exploited
  • Needs hands-on effort to exploit (estimated)
  • Gives an attacker full control (estimated)
Severity
9.3 Critical
Exploitation
10% chance of attack within 30 days
Timeline
Published15 Sep 2011
Updated16 Oct 2026
First seen29 Sep 2026
Sources
CVE-2011-1980 · NVD
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