CVE-2008-4028
CVE-2008-4028 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Office with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 38% places it in the 98th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.
Key facts
- Severity: Critical (CVSS 2.0 base score 9.3)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 38% (98th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-119
- Affected product: Microsoft Office
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
Microsoft Office Word 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 Gold and SP1; Outlook 2007 Gold and SP1; Word Viewer 2003 Gold and SP3; Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Gold and SP1; Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted control words related to multiple Drawing Object tags in (1) an RTF file or (2) a rich text e-mail message, which triggers incorrect memory allocation and a heap-based buffer overflow, aka "Word RTF Object Parsing Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-4030.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2008-4028?
- Microsoft Office Word 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 Gold and SP1; Outlook 2007 Gold and SP1; Word Viewer 2003 Gold and SP3; Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Gold and SP1; Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; and Open XML File Format Converter for Mac allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted control words related to multiple Drawing Object tags in (1) an RTF file or (2) a rich text e-mail message, which triggers incorrect memory allocation and a heap-based buffer overflow, aka "Word RTF Object Parsing Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-4030.
- How severe is CVE-2008-4028?
- CVE-2008-4028 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3, rated critical severity.
- Is CVE-2008-4028 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 38% (98th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2008-4028?
- CVE-2008-4028 primarily affects Microsoft Office. In total, 14 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2008-4028?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- When was CVE-2008-4028 published?
- CVE-2008-4028 was published on 2008-12-10 and last updated on 2026-06-16.
References
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/499063/100/0/threaded
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021370
- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA08-344A.html
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/3384
- http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-08-085
- http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-08-085/
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2008/ms08-072
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6096
Affected products (14)
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2004:*:mac:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office:2008:*:mac:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_compatibility_pack_for_word_excel_ppt_2007:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_compatibility_pack_for_word_excel_ppt_2007:*:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_word_viewer:2003:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_word_viewer:2003:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:open_xml_file_format_converter:*:*:mac:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:works:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_outlook:2007:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_outlook:2007:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_word:2000:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_word:2002:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_word:2003:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:office_word:2007:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
More vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office
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- CVE-2003-0347 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflow in VBE.DLL and VBE6.DLL of Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) SDK 5.0 through 6.3…
- CVE-2000-0854 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): When a Microsoft Office 2000 document is launched, the directory of that document is first used to locate DLL's such as…
- CVE-2025-53766 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows GDI+ allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.
- CVE-2023-23397 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- CVE-2023-21716 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
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