Page generated: 09 Nov 2026, 12:37 UTC
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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 arbitra…

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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.
CVSS 8.8 (HIGH) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE
0.0/10
REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY
8.5/10
General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?
  • Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
  • Technical severity: CVSS 8.8: +1.32
  • Fresh EPSS: 42.94%: +0.21

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Sources: 5 documents and public datasets.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)
0/100
Press, 30 days (60%)
0/100
Grounded branding (15%)
0/100
HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

Recorded Future
Press · 15 May 2026, 07:00 · April 2026 CVE Landscape - Recorded Future
TechRadar
Press · 16 Apr 2026, 07:00 · An ancient Microsoft Excel security flaw could let hackers hijack your entire system, so patch now - TechRadar
PC Gamer
Press · 16 Apr 2026, 07:00 · An almost two-decade-old Excel vulnerability is being actively exploited by bad actors - PC Gamer
Forbes
Press · 16 Apr 2026, 07:00 · Dangerous Fake Microsoft Windows Update Confirmed—Do Not Download - Forbes
The Register
Press · 15 Apr 2026, 07:00 · Ancient Excel bug comes out of retirement for active attacks - The Register

Score evolution

● Hype   ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 8.5 (2026-11-02 15:11). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

0

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence
Exploitation recorded
Priority basis
Recorded exploitation; CVSS 8.8; EPSS 42.9%
Attention, last 30 days
0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential
network access, no prior privileges, user interaction.
Observed activity
Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale
Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis
Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:57:22.188050+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline
Published
25 Feb 2009, 16:00
Added to the CISA KEV catalog
14 Apr 2026, 00:00
First press mention
15 Apr 2026, 07:00
Latest press mention
15 May 2026, 07:00
Score calculated
05 Nov 2026, 13:57