CVEs / CVE-2009-0556
CVE-2009-0556: Microsoft Office PowerPoint Code Injection Vulnerability
- Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 7 Jan 2026
- high 9.3 CVSS 2.0 (NVD)
- EPSS 67.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
- Last changed at its sources
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Summary
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.
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."
Affected and fixed versions
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| n/a n/a | n/a | — |
Exploitation
| In CISA KEV since | 7 Jan 2026 |
|---|---|
| Due date for US federal agencies | 28 Jan 2026 |
| Used in ransomware campaigns | Unknown |
| 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. |
Severity
| CVSS 2.0 | 9.3 highAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:CScored by NVD |
|---|---|
| Weakness | CWE-94 |
References
- CVE-2009-0556 on NVD
- CVE-2009-0556 in the CISA KEV catalog
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-017 (cited by CISA)
- 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 Broken Link
- 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 Broken Link
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34351 Broken Link
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1021967 Broken Link
- 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 Broken Link
- http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-019 Third Party Advisory
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2009/ms09-017 Vendor Advisory
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/49632 Third Party Advisory
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6204 Broken Link
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6279 Broken Link
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2009-0556 US Government Resource
Sources
Exploitation status from the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EPSS scores from FIRST. Descriptions, severity and references from the National Vulnerability Database. Open-source package versions from OSV (CC-BY 4.0). Text is shown as each source states it; Stackurity does not edit it. Check the vendor's advisory before acting.
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.