CVE-2005-2118
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedWindows Shell for Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP1 and SP2, and Server 2003 allows remote user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted shortcut (.lnk) file with long font properties that lead to a buffer overflow when the user views the file's properties using Windows Explorer, a different vulnerability than CVE-2005-2122.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Windows Shell when processing shortcut (.lnk) files with specially crafted long font properties. When a user views the properties of a malicious .lnk file through Windows Explorer, the overflow allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected systems running Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP1/SP2, and Server 2003.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versions= r2all versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' from command promptAffected if OS is Windows 2000 (any version), Windows XP (any version), or Windows Server 2003 R2
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Verify Shell version handling .lnk filesCheck shell32.dll version by right-clicking shell32.dll in C:\Windows\System32 and viewing Properties, or run 'dir C:\Windows\System32\shell32.dll'Affected if Shell version is unpatched and predates the MS05-046 security update (released July 2005)
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Confirm .lnk file association is activeAttempt to view properties of any .lnk shortcut file by right-clicking and selecting PropertiesAffected if Properties window opens and displays shortcut details without error, indicating the Shell handler is active and potentially vulnerable
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Check for missing security patchesRun 'wmic qfe list' or check Add/Remove Programs for security update KB901214 or the MS05-046 patchAffected if No relevant security patch is installed for this Shell .lnk handling vulnerability
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Identify if system handles untrusted .lnk filesAttempt to access properties of a .lnk file from an untrusted location (such as USB drive or download folder)Affected if The system allows viewing .lnk file properties from arbitrary locations without restriction
A system is affected if it runs Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 R2 without the MS05-046 security patch and allows users to view .lnk file properties.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply available Microsoft patches for this vulnerability; alternatively, disable viewing of shortcut file properties from untrusted sources or upgrade from end-of-life operating systems. User education to avoid opening properties of untrusted .lnk files reduces but does not eliminate the risk.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-2118 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-2118 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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