Microsoft Office: Memory Corruption (CVE-2008-3012)
Published Sources: CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
gdiplus.dll in GDI+ in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 SP1, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP1 and SP2, Vista Gold and SP1, Server 2008, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP2 and SP3, 2007 Microsoft Office System Gold and SP1, Visio 2002 SP2, PowerPoint Viewer 2003, Works 8, Digital Image Suite 2006, SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services SP2, SQL Server 2005 SP2, Report Viewer 2005 SP1 and 2008, and Forefront Client Security 1.0 does not properly perform memory allocation, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed EMF image file, aka "GDI+ EMF Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.
- Affected
- Microsoft digital_image_suite
eq 2006..2006 - Microsoft Forefront Client Security
eq 1.0..1.0 - Microsoft Internet Explorer 11
eq 6..6 - Microsoft Office
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft Office
eq xp..xp - Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer
eq 2003..2003 - Microsoft Report Viewer
eq 2005..2005 - Microsoft Report Viewer
eq 2008..2008 - Microsoft Server
eq 2008..2008 - Microsoft SQL Server
eq 2005..2005 - Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
eq 2000..2000 - Microsoft Visio
eq 2002..2002 - Microsoft Works
eq 8.0..8.0 - Microsoft Windows
eq 2003_server..2003_server - Microsoft Windows-NT
eq vista..vista - Microsoft Windows-NT
eq xp..xp
- Microsoft digital_image_suite
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Metrics
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Priority
No value is available for this vulnerability.
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CVSS v3
No value is available for this vulnerability.
31.0 %
EPSS score
Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 98.3
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Not rated
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 77.24 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 31.0 %
- Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 98.3
- Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
gdiplus.dll in GDI+ in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 SP1, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP1 and SP2, Vista Gold and SP1, Server 2008, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP2 and SP3, 2007 Microsoft Office System Gold and SP1, Visio 2002 SP2, PowerPoint Viewer 2003, Works 8, Digital Image Suite 2006, SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services SP2, SQL Server 2005 SP2, Report Viewer 2005 SP1 and 2008, and Forefront Client Security 1.0 does not properly perform memory allocation, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed EMF image file, aka "GDI+ EMF Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| microsoft | digital_image_suite |
|
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| microsoft | forefront_client_security |
|
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| microsoft | internet_explorer |
|
|
| microsoft | office |
|
|
| microsoft | office_powerpoint_viewer |
|
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| microsoft | report_viewer |
|
|
| microsoft | server |
|
|
| microsoft | sql_server |
|
|
| microsoft | sql_server_reporting_services |
|
|
| microsoft | visio |
|
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| microsoft | works |
|
|
Vendors and products
- Microsoft Microsoft digital_image_suite
- Microsoft Microsoft Forefront Client Security
- Microsoft Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer
- Microsoft Microsoft Report Viewer
- Microsoft Microsoft Server
- Microsoft Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
- Microsoft Microsoft Visio
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows NT
Affected operating systems
| Other | microsoft | office_system | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows | 2003_server |
| Windows | microsoft | windows-nt | vista |
| Windows | microsoft | windows-nt | xp |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_vista | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_xp | — |
References & sources
- secunia.com32154Third-party advisory, x_refsource_SECUNIA
- marc.infoHPSBST02372Vendor advisory, x_refsource_HP
- docs.microsoft.comMS08-052Vendor advisory, x_refsource_MS
- oval.cisecurity.orgoval:org.mitre.oval:def:6040Vulnerability database, signature, x_refsource_OVAL
- vupen.comADV-2008-2696Vulnerability database, x_refsource_VUPEN
- securitytracker.com1020835Vulnerability database, x_refsource_SECTRACK
- securityfocus.com31019Vulnerability database, x_refsource_BID
- us-cert.govTA08-253AThird-party advisory, x_refsource_CERT, US government resource
- vupen.comADV-2008-2520Vulnerability database, x_refsource_VUPEN
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2008-3012"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2008-3012.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2008-3012 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>