CVE-2007-2222: Microsoft Internet Explorer Speech Controls ActiveX Buffer Overflow

Automated analysis

Generated by VULONE's analysis model from the NVD record, CISA KEV and EPSS data on 20 September 2026. Confidence: high.

high priorityCVSS 2.0 score of 9.3 and high EPSS percentile indicate a severe, remotely exploitable flaw with public exploit code, though no KEV listing.

What it is

Multiple buffer overflows exist in the ActiveListen (Xlisten.dll) and ActiveVoice (Xvoice.dll) speech controls used by Internet Explorer 5.01, 6, and 7. A crafted ActiveX object, demonstrated via the ModeName parameter to the FindEngine function in ACTIVEVOICEPROJECTLib.DirectSS, triggers memory corruption. This matters because successful exploitation allows remote code execution in the context of the browsing user.

Impact

An attacker can execute arbitrary code on the victim's machine, gaining the privileges of the logged-on user. This can lead to full system compromise, data theft, or installation of malware.

Attack surface

The flaw is reached remotely over the network via a malicious web page or HTML document that instantiates the vulnerable ActiveX control in Internet Explorer. No authentication is required, but some user interaction (such as visiting a page or clicking a link) is typically needed to load the control.

Exploitation

The record is not listed in CISA KEV, but EPSS indicates a high probability of exploitation (0.54738, 98.97th percentile). Public exploit code is referenced in Exploit-DB (4065) and other sources, suggesting active exploitation is feasible.

What to do

• Apply the Microsoft security update MS07-033 immediately.
• Disable or remove the ActiveListen and ActiveVoice ActiveX controls if not required.
• Configure Internet Explorer to prompt before running ActiveX controls, or disable ActiveX in the Internet and Local intranet zones.
• Restrict browsing to trusted sites and avoid untrusted web content.
• Consider using a modern, supported browser that does not rely on these legacy controls.

Detection

• Monitor for network requests to known exploit URLs or domains hosting malicious ActiveX objects.
• Detect unusual process creation or memory corruption indicators from iexplore.exe, especially involving Xlisten.dll or Xvoice.dll.
• Audit registry and file system for the presence of the vulnerable ActiveX controls and their killbit status.
• Review web proxy logs for access to pages containing the specific ActiveX CLSID or the ModeName parameter pattern.

This assessment is produced automatically and is not human-reviewed. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting on it.