CVE-2010-1885
The MPC::HexToNum function in helpctr.exe in Microsoft Windows Help and Support Center in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 does not…
- 9.3HighCVSS base score
- 71.1%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 0.6% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- 3Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
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."
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. The public collections list a Metasploit module and 2 Exploit-DB entries for it. A reference of the record is tagged as an exploit.
Show the exploits4
Metasploit modules1 module
- Microsoft Help Center XSS and Command Execution (Metasploit module) (opens in a new tab)
exploit/windows/browser/ms10_042_helpctr_xss_cmd_execRank excellentdisclosed 9 Jun 2010
Exploit-DB2 entries
- Microsoft Help Center - Cross-Site Scripting / Command Execution (MS10-042) (Metasploit) (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 16545remote, windowspublished 20 Sept 2010Verified
- Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles - Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly (MS03-044) (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 13808remote, windowspublished 10 Jun 2010Verified
References tagged exploit1 reference
- 13808 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
Modules, templates and exploits as listed by the Metasploit Framework (BSD-3-Clause), ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei templates (MIT) and the Exploit Database (GPLv2), read once a day. Where the data comes from
Timeline
ID reserved
By microsoft
- 34 days later
· 34 days later
Published
- 14 years later
· 14 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | High9.3 | AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 71.1% · top 0.6% of all CVEs (10 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 9.3.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
16
- VU#578319 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_CERT-VNx_transferred
- 20100609 Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQx_transferred
- ms-win-helpctr-command-execution(59267) (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_XFx_transferred
- 20100610 Re: Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQx_transferred
- http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2010/06/10/help-and-support-center-vulnerability-full-disclosure-posting.aspx (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- 40725 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- 20100609 Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCx_transferred
- 1024084 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- 13808 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
- http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2010/06/10/windows-help-vulnerability-disclosure.aspx (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2219475.mspx (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- TA10-194A (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_CERTx_transferred
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:11733 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entrysignaturex_refsource_OVALx_transferred
- ADV-2010-1417 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_VUPENx_transferred
- MS10-042 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MSx_transferred
- 40076 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2010-1904 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2010-1885)Record last updated .