CVE-2005-2122
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 attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a shortcut (.lnk) file with long font properties that lead to a buffer overflow in the Client/Server Runtime Server Subsystem (CSRSS), a different vulnerability than CVE-2005-2118.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow in Windows Shell/CSRSS triggered by malicious .lnk shortcut files with excessively long font properties allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. Affects 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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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Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' or check System Properties to determine the installed Windows versionAffected if Version is Windows 2000 (any), Windows XP (any), or Windows Server 2003 R2
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Confirm CSRSS process is runningOpen Task Manager and verify csrss.exe is running, or run 'tasklist | findstr csrss' in command promptAffected if CSRSS process is present (normal for affected systems)
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Verify Shell is operationalConfirm explorer.exe is running as the Windows Shell, or check HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell valueAffected if Windows Shell is active (default state on affected systems)
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Check for MS05-049 patch presenceView installed updates in Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' to list hotfixesAffected if Security update MS05-049 is NOT installed
System is affected if it runs Windows 2000, XP, or Server 2003 R2 and is missing the MS05-049 security update.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply Microsoft security patch MS05-049 or upgrade affected systems to supported Windows versions no longer impacted by this vulnerability.
If possible, upgrade to a supported Windows version (Windows Vista or later for consumers, Windows Server 2008 or later for servers) as these operating systems are no longer supported
- Download and install Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-037 (KB896320) from the Microsoft Update Catalog or Microsoft Download Center
- For Windows 2000 SP4: Apply security update KB896320
- For Windows XP (all versions): Apply security update KB896320, or ensure Windows XP SP2 is installed which contains the fix
- For Windows Server 2003 R2: Apply security update KB896320
- After installation, restart the affected system to ensure the patch takes effect
- Verify the update was successfully installed by checking Add/Remove Programs for the security update (View Updates enabled)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-2122 — 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-2005-2122 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data