CVE-2009-3129: Microsoft Excel Featheader Record Memory Corruption Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Mar 2022, 4,495 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 84%
EPSS score, percentile 99.7 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 24 Mar 2022. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA due date for this action: 24 March 2022.
Advisories and patches
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
Microsoft Office Excel allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a spreadsheet with a FEATHEADER record containing an invalid cbHdrData size element that affects a pointer offset.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2009-3129 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 3 Mar 2022.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 24 Mar 2022.
- The CVE record was published on 11 Nov 2009, 4,495 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 84% (percentile 99.7), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
Microsoft Office Excel 2002 SP3, 2003 SP3, and 2007 SP1 and SP2; Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac; Open XML File Format Converter for Mac; Office Excel Viewer 2003 SP3; Office Excel Viewer SP1 and SP2; and Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats SP1 and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a spreadsheet with a FEATHEADER record containing an invalid cbHdrData size element that affects a pointer offset, aka "Excel Featheader Record Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 11 Nov 2009 | CVE record published |
| 3 Mar 2022 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 24 Mar 2022 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 22 Oct 2025 | CVE record last updated |
References
- TA09-314A
- 20091110 Microsoft Excel FEATHEADER Record Memory Corruption Vulnerability
- 14706
- 59860
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6521
- 1023157
- 36945
- 20091110 ZDI-09-083: Microsoft Excel Shared Feature Header Pointer Offset Memory Corruption Vulnerability
- zerodayinitiative.com
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