What is the VBD file format?
A .vbd file is a Visual Basic ActiveX Document data file, a binary format introduced with Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 in 1996 as part of the now-obsolete ActiveX Document technology.
An ActiveX Document project compiled in VB5 or VB6 produced two outputs: an executable or DLL containing the UserDocument class, and a .vbd file storing the component's persisted state. The .vbd uses the OLE2 Compound File Binary (CFB) format - the same container used by legacy .doc, .xls, and .ppt files - identifiable by the magic bytes D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1. Internally it holds the registered COM class identifier (CLSID) of the compiled VB6 component and the PropertyBag data written during the component's WriteProperties event.
At runtime, Internet Explorer read the .vbd file to identify which registered ActiveX Document class to instantiate and to pass it the persisted property data. Both the VB6 runtime and the compiled component had to be registered on the client machine.
The technology is entirely obsolete. Visual Basic 6.0 extended support ended in April 2008. Internet Explorer - the only browser that ever hosted ActiveX Documents - was retired by Microsoft in June 2022. No modern browser supports ActiveX. .vbd files cannot be opened in any current application; the OLE structure can be inspected with forensic tools such as oledump.py from the oletools suite.
Security & safety
RISK: MEDIUMVBD files are OLE Compound Documents referencing ActiveX CLSIDs. Opening a .vbd in Internet Explorer (if somehow available) would attempt to load and execute registered ActiveX code - a significant attack surface. Modern browsers block ActiveX entirely. For forensic inspection of suspicious .vbd files, use oletools/oledump (safe read-only analysis). Do not attempt to register unknown ActiveX components on a production system.
Format details
in a nutshell- Veeam Backup Disk File - Veeam Backup & Replication uses .vbd as the extension for virtual disk data files in backup chains (completely different, binary backup format).
Programs that open VBD files
Windows2 apps
Visual Basic 6.0 (IDE)
Paid Historically: open the corresponding .vbp project; run the .exe and navigate to the .vbd in Internet Explorer. Neither VB6 IDE nor IE is supported on modern Windows.
oletools / oledump (for inspection only)
Open-source python oledump.py file.vbd - inspect raw OLE streams to see what data is stored inside. Technical details
deep spec| Container format | OLE2 Compound File Binary (CFB) / Structured Storage |
| Magic bytes | D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 at offset 0 (shared OLE2 header) |
| Byte order | Little-endian |
| Technology | Visual Basic 6 ActiveX Documents (UserDocument class) |
| Runtime requirement | VB6 runtime DLLs and the compiled component (.exe or .dll) registered on the client system |
| Host requirement | Internet Explorer 3.0-11 (the only browser ever to support ActiveX Document hosting) |
| Persisted data | COM PropertyBag content from UserDocument WriteProperties / ReadProperties events |
| Pairing | Each .vbd pairs with a compiled .exe or .dll containing the UserDocument class |
| Introduced | Visual Basic 5.0 (1996) with Internet Explorer 3.0/4.0 ActiveX Document hosting |
| Status | Fully obsolete - IE retired June 2022; VB6 extended support ended April 2008 |
| Associated OS | Windows only |
| MIME type | application/octet-stream |
| Released | 1996, Visual Basic 5.0 (first VB version to support ActiveX Documents) |
| Latest version | Visual Basic 6.0 era (no updates since 2001) |
| Specification | learn.microsoft.com |
VBD conversions
Community Q&A
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