{"id":"CVE-2010-1885","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2010-1885","generatedAt":"2026-10-27T17:44:17.329Z","title":"The MPC::HexToNum function in helpctr.exe in Microsoft Windows Help and Support Center in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 does not properly handle malformed escape sequences, which allows remote attackers to bypass the trusted documents whitelist…","description":"The MPC::HexToNum function in helpctr.exe in Microsoft Windows Help and Support Center in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 does not properly handle malformed escape sequences, which allows remote attackers to bypass the trusted documents whitelist (fromHCP option) and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted hcp:// URL, aka \"Help Center URL Validation Vulnerability.\"","published":"2010-06-15T14:04:24.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-16T23:19:32.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"secure@microsoft.com","cvss":{"version":"2.0","score":9.3,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C"},"cwe":["CWE-78"],"affected":["microsoft/windows 2003 server","microsoft/windows server 2003","microsoft/windows xp"],"epss":{"score":0.71148,"percentile":0.99403,"date":"2026-10-26","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":2,"verified":true,"firstPublished":"2010-06-10","source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[{"edbId":16545,"kind":"exploit","title":"Microsoft Help Center - Cross-Site Scripting / Command Execution (MS10-042) (Metasploit)","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16545","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/windows/remote/16545.rb","file":"exploits/windows/remote/16545.rb","published":"2010-09-20","added":"2010-09-20","updated":"2011-03-10","author":"Metasploit","type":"remote","platform":"windows","port":null,"verified":true,"codes":["CVE-2010-1885","OSVDB-65264","MS10-042"],"tags":"Metasploit Framework (MSF)","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":"http://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/b10a58b75029f79b5f93f4add3ddf992/ADVISORY"},{"edbId":13808,"kind":"exploit","title":"Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles - Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly (MS03-044)","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/13808","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/windows/remote/13808.txt","file":"exploits/windows/remote/13808.txt","published":"2010-06-10","added":"2010-06-09","updated":null,"author":"Tavis Ormandy","type":"remote","platform":"windows","port":null,"verified":true,"codes":["CVE-2010-1885","OSVDB-65264","MS03-044"],"tags":null,"aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":null}]},"verdict":{"level":"urgent","text":"EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 71.1%, higher than 99% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2010-06/0197.html","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2010/06/10/windows-help-vulnerability-disclosure.aspx","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2010/06/10/help-and-support-center-vulnerability-full-disclosure-posting.aspx","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/40076","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/13808","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/578319","tags":["US Government Resource"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2219475.mspx","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511774/100/0/threaded","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511783/100/0/threaded","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/40725","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1024084","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-194A.html","tags":["US Government Resource"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/1417","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-042","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/59267","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11733","source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2010-06/0197.html","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2010/06/10/windows-help-vulnerability-disclosure.aspx","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2010/06/10/help-and-support-center-vulnerability-full-disclosure-posting.aspx","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/40076","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/13808","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/578319","tags":["US Government Resource"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2219475.mspx","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511774/100/0/threaded","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511783/100/0/threaded","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/40725","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1024084","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-194A.html","tags":["US Government Resource"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/1417","tags":["Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-042","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/59267","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11733","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-1885","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}