CVE-2008-4255

CVE-2008-4255 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Office Frontpage with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 54% places it in the 99th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.

Key facts

Description

Heap-based buffer overflow in mscomct2.ocx (aka Windows Common ActiveX control or Microsoft Animation ActiveX control) in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Visual Studio .NET 2002 SP1 and 2003 SP1, Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1 and 9.0 SP1 and SP2, and Office Project 2003 SP3 and 2007 Gold and SP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an AVI file with a crafted stream length, which triggers an "allocation error" and memory corruption, aka "Windows Common AVI Parsing Overflow Vulnerability."

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2008-4255?
Heap-based buffer overflow in mscomct2.ocx (aka Windows Common ActiveX control or Microsoft Animation ActiveX control) in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Visual Studio .NET 2002 SP1 and 2003 SP1, Visual FoxPro 8.0 SP1 and 9.0 SP1 and SP2, and Office Project 2003 SP3 and 2007 Gold and SP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an AVI file with a crafted stream length, which triggers an "allocation error" and memory corruption, aka "Windows Common AVI Parsing Overflow Vulnerability."
How severe is CVE-2008-4255?
CVE-2008-4255 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 9.3, rated critical severity.
Is CVE-2008-4255 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 54% (99th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2008-4255?
CVE-2008-4255 primarily affects Microsoft Office Frontpage. In total, 10 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2008-4255?
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-2008-4255 published?
CVE-2008-4255 was published on 2008-12-10 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

Affected products (10)

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