CVE-2005-2597
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 · uneditedAOL Client Software 9.0 uses insecure permissions for its installation path, which allows local users to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges by replacing ACSD.exe with a malicious program.
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 confidenceAOL Client Software 9.0 installs with overly permissive file system permissions on its installation directory, allowing any local user to modify or replace the ACSD.exe executable. When the application or a scheduled service runs ACSD.exe, it executes with SYSTEM-level privileges, enabling a local attacker to gain full system compromise by substituting the legitimate binary with malicious code.
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 data= 9.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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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Verify AOL Client Software 9.0 is installedSearch the system for AOL Client Software and determine the installed version. Check common installation paths like Program Files directories and look for AOL-related program folders or registry entries.Affected if AOL Client Software version 9.0 is found on the system
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Locate the ACSD.exe executableFind the ACSD.exe file within the AOL installation directory. This is the executable that can be replaced with malicious code.Affected if ACSD.exe exists in the AOL Client Software installation directory
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Inspect permissions on the AOL installation directoryExamine the file system permissions on the directory where AOL Client Software 9.0 is installed. Determine if standard (non-privileged) user accounts have write, modify, or full control permissions to this directory or its contents.Affected if Standard users have write or modify permissions to the AOL installation directory containing ACSD.exe
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Check for scheduled tasks or services running ACSD.exeSearch the system for scheduled tasks or services that execute ACSD.exe. Look in Task Scheduler and the Windows service database for any automation that runs this binary.Affected if ACSD.exe is configured to run automatically via a scheduled task or Windows service
A system is affected if AOL Client Software 9.0 is installed, the installation directory permits standard users to modify files, and ACSD.exe runs or is scheduled to run on the system.
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 dataRestrict permissions on the AOL installation directory to prevent standard users from modifying or replacing executables; ensure only administrators and the SYSTEM account have write access to the application binaries.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-2597 — 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-2005-2597 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data