{"id":"CVE-2010-1885","aliases":["EUVD-2010-1904","GHSA-3qv5-55f8-3w6h"],"status":"published","title":"The MPC::HexToNum function in helpctr.exe in Microsoft Windows Help and Support Center in Windows...","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.\"","severity":{"version":"2.0","score":9.3,"vector":"AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C","level":"high","assessor":"primary","from":"nvd"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-08","score":0.71148,"percentile":0.99412,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":true,"fix_available":false},"cwes":["CWE-78"],"published":"2010-06-14T18:00:00Z","modified":"2026-06-16T23:19:31Z","exploits":[{"source":"exploitdb","id":"EDB-13808","title":"Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles - Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly (MS03-044)","type":"remote","platform":"windows","date":"2010-06-10","verified":true,"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/13808"},{"source":"exploitdb","id":"EDB-16545","title":"Microsoft Help Center - Cross-Site Scripting / Command Execution (MS10-042) (Metasploit)","type":"remote","platform":"windows","date":"2010-09-20","verified":true,"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16545"},{"source":"metasploit","id":"exploit/windows/browser/ms10_042_helpctr_xss_cmd_exec","title":"Microsoft Help Center XSS and Command Execution","type":"exploit","platform":"Windows","date":"2010-06-09","verified":true,"url":"https://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/windows/browser/ms10_042_helpctr_xss_cmd_exec"}],"products":[{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_2003_server"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2003"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_xp"}],"references":[{"url":"http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/578319","tags":["third-party-advisory","x_refsource_CERT-VN","x_transferred","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511774/100/0/threaded","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_BUGTRAQ","x_transferred"]},{"url":"https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/59267","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_XF","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511783/100/0/threaded","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_BUGTRAQ","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2010/06/10/help-and-support-center-vulnerability-full-disclosure-posting.aspx","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","x_transferred","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/40725","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_BID","x_transferred","Exploit"]},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2010-06/0197.html","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_FULLDISC","x_transferred","Exploit"]},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1024084","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_SECTRACK","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/13808","tags":["exploit","x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2010/06/10/windows-help-vulnerability-disclosure.aspx","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2219475.mspx","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","x_transferred","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-194A.html","tags":["third-party-advisory","x_refsource_CERT","x_transferred","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11733","tags":["vdb-entry","signature","x_refsource_OVAL","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/1417","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_VUPEN","x_transferred","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-042","tags":["vendor-advisory","x_refsource_MS","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/40076","tags":["third-party-advisory","x_refsource_SECUNIA","x_transferred","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-1885"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-3qv5-55f8-3w6h"}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2010-1885","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.\"","status":"published","published":"2010-06-14T18:00:00Z","modified":"2024-08-07T01:35:53.75Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:33:29.227451Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2010-1904","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.\"","status":"published","published":"2010-06-14T18:00:00Z","modified":"2024-08-07T01:35:53Z","updated_at":"2026-11-03T01:39:39.801604Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-3qv5-55f8-3w6h","title":"The MPC::HexToNum function in helpctr.exe in Microsoft Windows Help and Support Center in Windows...","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.\"","status":"published","published":"2022-05-14T01:31:42Z","modified":"2023-02-02T05:04:02Z","cwes":["CWE-78"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:51:46.364743Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2010-1885","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.\"","status":"published","published":"2010-06-15T14:04:23.53Z","modified":"2026-06-16T23:19:31.51Z","cvss":[{"version":"2.0","score":9.3,"vector":"AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C","level":"high","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-78"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:01:47.724369Z"}]}}