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Known Exploited Vulnerability
9.3
HIGH CVSS 2.0
CVE-2009-0556
Microsoft Office PowerPoint Code Injection Vulnerability - [Actively Exploited]
Description

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 SP3, 2002 SP3, and 2003 SP3, and PowerPoint in Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PowerPoint file with an OutlineTextRefAtom containing an an invalid index value that triggers memory corruption, as exploited in the wild in April 2009 by Exploit:Win32/Apptom.gen, aka "Memory Corruption Vulnerability."

INFO

Published Date :

April 3, 2009, 6:30 p.m.

Last Modified :

Jan. 7, 2026, 7:15 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !

Source :

[email protected]
CISA Notification
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

For the benefit of the cybersecurity community and network defenders—and to help every organization better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity—CISA maintains the authoritative source of vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild.

Description :

Microsoft Office PowerPoint contains a code injection vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PowerPoint file with an OutlineTextRefAtom containing an invalid index value that triggers memory corruption.

Required Action :

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Notes :

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-017 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-0556

Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2009-0556 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Microsoft powerpoint
2 Microsoft office_powerpoint
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 2
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 2.0 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Solution
This information is provided by the 3rd party feeds.
  • Microsoft has released a set of patches for PowerPoint 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2007, PowerPoint Viewer 2003 and 2007, as well as the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github

CVE-2009-0556 has a 4 public PoC/Exploit available at Github. Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2009-0556.

URL Resource
http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/archive/2009/04/02/new-0-day-exploits-using-powerpoint-files.aspx Vendor Advisory
http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/04/02/microsoft-security-advisory-969136.aspx Vendor Advisory
http://blogs.technet.com/srd/archive/2009/04/02/investigating-the-new-powerpoint-issue.aspx Vendor Advisory
http://osvdb.org/53182
http://secunia.com/advisories/34572 Vendor Advisory
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/627331 US Government Resource
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/969136.mspx Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/503453/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34351
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021967
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-132A.html US Government Resource
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0915 Vendor Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1290
http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-019
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-017
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/49632
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6204
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6279
http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/archive/2009/04/02/new-0-day-exploits-using-powerpoint-files.aspx Vendor Advisory
http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/04/02/microsoft-security-advisory-969136.aspx Vendor Advisory
http://blogs.technet.com/srd/archive/2009/04/02/investigating-the-new-powerpoint-issue.aspx Vendor Advisory
http://osvdb.org/53182
http://secunia.com/advisories/34572 Vendor Advisory
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/627331 US Government Resource
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/969136.mspx Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/503453/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34351
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021967
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-132A.html US Government Resource
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0915 Vendor Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1290
http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-019
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-017
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/49632
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6204
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6279
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2009-0556
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2009-0556 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2009-0556 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

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ThePhoenixAgency/AI-Pulse

Curated AI news aggregator from 6 premium sources - Auto-updated with webhook, anti-paywall system, paginated display

JavaScript PLpgSQL HTML

Updated: 11 hours, 50 minutes ago
2 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : Dec. 10, 2025, 5:35 a.m. This repo has been linked 3 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
CryptoGenNepal/CVE-KEV-RSS

CISA maintains the authoritative source of vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild and CryptoGen Nepal aims to simplify this for the general public in a more understandable way as well as in a format that can be easily integrated into their threat intelligence systems.

cve json rss cgn cisa kev

Python HTML

Updated: 23 hours, 9 minutes ago
3 stars 1 fork 1 watcher
Born at : Feb. 16, 2025, 5:21 p.m. This repo has been linked 2 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
DevGreick/devgreick

None

Python

Updated: 11 hours, 8 minutes ago
1 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : Oct. 29, 2024, 8:10 p.m. This repo has been linked 11 different CVEs too.
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ARPSyndicate/cve-scores

EPSS & VEDAS Score Aggregator for CVEs

cve vulnerability exploit epss vedas exploit-maturity

Updated: 13 hours, 2 minutes ago
255 stars 38 fork 38 watcher
Born at : April 13, 2021, 4:50 a.m. This repo has been linked 147 different CVEs too.

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2009-0556 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

  • CybersecurityNews
CISA Warns of Microsoft PowerPoint Code Injection Vulnerability Exploited in Attacks

CISA issued a critical alert regarding a code-injection vulnerability in Microsoft PowerPoint that poses a significant risk to organizations worldwide. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2009-0556, all ... Read more

Published Date: Jan 08, 2026 (21 hours, 57 minutes ago)
  • The Hacker News
CISA Flags Microsoft Office and HPE OneView Bugs as Actively Exploited

Jan 08, 2026Ravie LakshmananVulnerability / KEV Catalog The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Wednesday added two security flaws impacting Microsoft Office and Hewlett ... Read more

Published Date: Jan 08, 2026 (1 day, 4 hours ago)
  • Daily CyberSecurity
CISA KEV Alert: HPE’s Maximum CVSS Score Flaw and a Zombie PowerPoint Bug

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has updated its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog with two new entries that span nearly two decades of computing history. The la ... Read more

Published Date: Jan 08, 2026 (1 day, 5 hours ago)

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2009-0556 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Jan. 07, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-94
    Added Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2009-0556
  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/archive/2009/04/02/new-0-day-exploits-using-powerpoint-files.aspx
    Added Reference http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/04/02/microsoft-security-advisory-969136.aspx
    Added Reference http://blogs.technet.com/srd/archive/2009/04/02/investigating-the-new-powerpoint-issue.aspx
    Added Reference http://osvdb.org/53182
    Added Reference http://secunia.com/advisories/34572
    Added Reference http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/627331
    Added Reference http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/969136.mspx
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/503453/100/0/threaded
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34351
    Added Reference http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021967
    Added Reference http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-132A.html
    Added Reference http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0915
    Added Reference http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1290
    Added Reference http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-019
    Added Reference https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-017
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/49632
    Added Reference https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6204
    Added Reference https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6279
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Oct. 12, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS09-017.mspx [Patch, Vendor Advisory]
    Added Reference https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-017 [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Oct. 10, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/archive/1/503453/100/0/threaded [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/503453/100/0/threaded [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Sep. 29, 2017

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://oval.mitre.org/repository/data/getDef?id=oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6204 [No Types Assigned]
    Removed Reference http://oval.mitre.org/repository/data/getDef?id=oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6279 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6279 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6204 [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Aug. 08, 2017

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed Reference http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/49632 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/49632 [No Types Assigned]
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Apr. 06, 2009

    Action Type Old Value New Value
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 8.8
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Base CVSS Score: 9.3
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

76.76 }} 29.22%

score

0.98903

percentile