# CVE-2009-0238: Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening a crafted Excel document, affecting Microsoft Office Excel and viewers.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 14 Apr 2026 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 25 Feb 2009
- **Updated:** 15 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qw7j-w352-g8m7

## What is CVE-2009-0238?

CVE-2009-0238 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 25 Feb 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

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.

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-0238?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Excel Viewer, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, Microsoft Office Excel Viewer.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-0238?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-0238 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 28 Apr 2026.

## Is CVE-2009-0238 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2009-0238 in the wild since at least 14 Apr 2026.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel

- [CVE-2019-1297](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1297/): Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2016-7262](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7262/): Microsoft Office Security Feature Bypass (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2009-3129](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3129/): Microsoft Excel Featheader Record Memory Corruption (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2008-0081](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0081/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-6040](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-6040/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-0238 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-0238 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 25 Feb 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2009-0238 in the wild since at least 14 Apr 2026.

Affected product: Microsoft Excel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0238/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0238/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-0238
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-0238
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-0238

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0238/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.