Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2010-1885

Microsoft Windows Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

Published Jul 26, 2011 · catalog updated Jul 26, 2011 · Microsoft Windows

Patch now

CVE-2010-1885 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog. Confirm Microsoft Windows against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Gaps on this record

  • No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
Severity
Unknown—
Known exploitation
CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
71.15%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
vendor Microsoft Windows

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."

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • vendor Microsoft Windowsversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2010-1885

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2010-1885 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog. Confirm Microsoft Windows against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Which versions are affected?

Affected version ranges are not on this record. Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.

What should an analyst verify?

No weakness class is stored. EPSS 71.15%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Technology hubs

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Jul 26, 2011 · VulnCheck KEV

    Detected

    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."

  2. Jul 26, 2011 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2010-1885

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2010-1885

    30-day exploitation probability 71.1%

    first.org
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-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 properly handle malformed escape sequences, which allows remote attackers to bypass the trusted documents whitelist (fromHCP option) and execute a

    vulncheck.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 18, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.