# CVE-2011-1989: Code injection in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening a crafted spreadsheet with malicious conditional formatting expressions.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Sep 2011
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vc7q-73x4-cqqg

## What is CVE-2011-1989?

CVE-2011-1989 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 15 Sep 2011. 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 Excel 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP2; Excel in Office 2007 SP2; Excel 2010 Gold and SP1; Excel in Office 2010 Gold and SP1; Office 2004, 2008, and 2011 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Excel Viewer SP2; Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP2; Excel Services on Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP2; Excel Services on Office SharePoint Server 2010 Gold and SP1; and Excel Web App 2010 Gold and SP1 do not properly parse conditional expressions associated with formatting requirements, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted spreadsheet, aka "Excel Conditional Expression Parsing Vulnerability."

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-1989?

It affects 7 products.


Products: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Excel Viewer, Microsoft Excel Web App, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, Microsoft Open Xml File Format Converter, Microsoft Sharepoint Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-1989?

No fix has been published for CVE-2011-1989 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2011-1989 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-1989 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2009-0238](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0238/): Microsoft Office 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)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-1989 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-1989 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 15 Sep 2011. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-1989 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2011-1989/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1989/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-1989
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-1989
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-1989

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1989/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.