CVE-2009-0556
Published 2009-04-03 · Updated 2026-06-16 · Source secure@microsoft.com
Summary
CVE-2009-0556 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) vulnerability in Microsoft Office. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on January 7, 2026, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed; US federal agencies had to remediate it by January 28, 2026. CISA does not currently list it as used in ransomware campaigns. Microsoft has 390 vulnerabilities in the KEV catalog, 117 of them linked to ransomware.
All 390 known-exploited Microsoft vulnerabilities →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."
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA Known-Exploited Vulnerability
Product: Microsoft — Office
Name: Microsoft Office PowerPoint Code Injection Vulnerability
Date added: 2026-01-07 · Due: 2026-01-28
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.
References
- http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/archive/2009/04/02/new-0-day-exploits-using-powerpoint-files.aspx
- http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/04/02/microsoft-security-advisory-969136.aspx
- http://blogs.technet.com/srd/archive/2009/04/02/investigating-the-new-powerpoint-issue.aspx
- http://osvdb.org/53182
- http://secunia.com/advisories/34572
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/627331
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/969136.mspx
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/503453/100/0/threaded

