dbcve.org
Helix PlayerApplication · Realnetworks

CVE-2005-2710

MEDIUM · 5.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-09-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Format string vulnerability in Real HelixPlayer and RealPlayer 10 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via the (1) image handle or (2) timeformat attribute in a RealPix (.rp) or RealText (.rt) file.

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 confidence

Format string vulnerability in Real HelixPlayer and RealPlayer 10 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted image handle or timeformat attributes in RealPix (.rp) or RealText (.rt) files. The vulnerability occurs when user-controlled input from these media files is passed unsafely to printf-style functions, enabling memory corruption and code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of RealPlayer or replace the affected player with an alternative media player. Avoid opening untrusted RealPix or RealText files from unknown sources.

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
Helix PlayerApplication
Affected:all versions
RealplayerApplication
Affected:= 10.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if RealPlayer or Helix Player is installed
    Check for RealPlayer or Helix Player executables in common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Real\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Real\, or use system inventory tools to list installed software
    Affected if Either RealPlayer version 10.0 or Helix Player of any version is found installed on the system
  2. Determine the exact version of RealPlayer
    Right-click on the RealPlayer executable (typically named realplay.exe) in the installation directory, select Properties, and view the Version tab, or run 'realplay.exe /?' from the command line to display version information
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 10.0 (RealPlayer 10)
  3. Determine the exact version of Helix Player
    Right-click on the Helix Player executable (typically named helixplayer.exe) in the installation directory, select Properties, and view the Version tab, or run 'helixplayer.exe -v' if supported
    Affected if Helix Player of any version is found installed (all versions are affected)
  4. Check if RealPix and RealText file associations exist
    Search the Windows registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT for .rp and .rt file extensions, or check if these file types are listed in the player's supported formats documentation
    Affected if The player has registered handlers for .rp (RealPix) or .rt (RealText) file extensions, enabling the vulnerability to be triggered

A system is affected if RealPlayer version 10.0 or any version of Helix Player is installed and the player can process RealPix (.rp) or RealText (.rt) files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of RealPlayer or replace the affected player with an alternative media player. Avoid opening untrusted RealPix or RealText files from unknown sources.

Fix this in Helix Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-2710 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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