CVE-2005-2938
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 · uneditedUnquoted Windows search path vulnerability in iTunesHelper.exe in iTunes 4.7.1.30 and iTunes 5 for Windows might allow local users to gain privileges via a malicious C:\program.exe 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 confidenceUnquoted Windows service path vulnerability in iTunesHelper.exe allows local privilege escalation. When the service path (likely 'C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe') is unquoted, Windows searches for executables in intermediate directories, causing a malicious C:\program.exe to be executed with elevated privileges.
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= 4.7.1.30= 5.0CVSS 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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Identify installed iTunes versionOpen Add or Remove Programs (appwiz.cpl) or Programs and Features, locate Apple iTunes, and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, check the file version of C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe by right-clicking the file, selecting Properties, and viewing the Details tab.Affected if Version equals 4.7.1.30 or 5.0 (or falls within the unsupported 4.x-5.x range if expanded)
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Verify iTunesHelper service existsOpen Services (services.msc), scroll alphabetically to iTunesHelper, or run 'sc query iTunesHelper' from an elevated command prompt.Affected if The iTunesHelper service is present and configured to run
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Examine service binary path configurationRun 'sc qc iTunesHelper' from an elevated command prompt to query the service configuration. Look at the BINARY_PATH_NAME field. Check whether the path to iTunesHelper.exe is enclosed in quotation marks or is unquoted.Affected if The BINARY_PATH_NAME shows an unquoted path containing spaces (e.g., C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe without quotes)
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Inspect intermediate directories for malicious executablesList the contents of C:\ (root directory) and C:\Program Files\ separately using 'dir /a C:\' and 'dir /a "C:\Program Files"'. Look for unexpected executable files such as program.exe, Program.exe, or common Windows executable names that could be placed by an attacker.Affected if Any executable exists in C:\ or C:\Program Files\ that could be invoked before iTunesHelper.exe is reached due to the unquoted path
A user is affected if they have iTunes 4.7.1.30 or 5.0 installed with the iTunesHelper service present, the service binary path is unquoted, and a malicious executable exists in an intermediate directory along the path.
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 dataThis vulnerability is in discontinued, unsupported versions of iTunes (4.7.1.30 and 5). The recommended mitigation is to disable or remove the iTunesHelper Windows service entirely, as no vendor patch exists. Additionally, ensure no executable exists at C:\program.exe.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-2938 — 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-2005-2938 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