What it is
CVE-2009-0238 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Microsoft Office Excel. Microsoft Office Excel 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1; Excel Viewer 2003 Gold and SP3; Excel Viewer; Compatibility Pack...
Vulnerability report
Exploitation attempts observed in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2009-0238
Office Excel
Microsoft / Office Excel
- Severity
- CVSS 8.8 · High
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploitation attempts observed in the wild
- EPSS
- 42.9%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Have exploitation attempts been observed?
Yes. Exploitation attempts have been reported for this vulnerability. Previdian lists it as a known exploited vulnerability. Listed in CISA KEV. Also reported by third-party sources. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
Microsoft / Office Excel.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
Office Excel
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.
- Published
- 25 Feb 2009
- Exploitation Attempts Reported
- 25 Feb 2009
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
Tags
cisa
microsoft
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-0238
- MS09-009 docs.microsoft.com · Vendor Advisory https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2...
- TA09-104A us-cert.gov · Third-Party Advisory http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-104A.html
- ADV-2009-1023 vupen.com · VDB Entry http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1023
- ms-excel-unspecified-code-execution(48875) exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com · VDB Entry https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/48875
- 33870 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/33870
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:5968 oval.cisecurity.org · VDB Entry https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.m...
- 1021744 securitytracker.com · VDB Entry http://securitytracker.com/id?1021744
- microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/968272.mspx microsoft.com · CVE Record http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/968272.mspx
- symantec.com/business/security_response/writeup.jsp symantec.com · CVE Record http://www.symantec.com/business/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=...
- isc.sans.org/diary.html isc.sans.org · CVE Record http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=5923
- blogs.zdnet.com/security blogs.zdnet.com · CVE Record http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2658
Exploitation evidence
Evidence of exploitation attempts
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploitation attempts observed in the wild
CVE
A trusted third party reported exploitation attempts.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CVE First | 2009-02-25 16:00 UTC |
| CISA | 2026-06-02 14:02 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- User-Agents
- Callback hosts
- 0
- 0
- 0
Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
No scanner integrations recorded yet.
Virtual patch status
No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
8.8
High
Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
42.9%
Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.
All CVSS Scores
CVSS v3.1
8.8
High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2.0
9.3
High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation attempts
-
14:02 UTC
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
16:00 UTC
Added to Previdian KEV Feed
High-confidence, third-party report of exploitation attempts
-
16:00 UTC
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
00:00 UTC
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2009-0238
Sample API response{
"cve_id": "CVE-2009-0238",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 8.8,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.42941,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}