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Windows Media PlayerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2006-0006

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-02-14
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Heap-based buffer overflow in the bitmap processing routine in Microsoft Windows Media Player 7.1 on Windows 2000 SP4, Media Player 9 on Windows 2000 SP4 and XP SP1, and Media Player 10 on XP SP1 and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted bitmap (.BMP) file that specifies a size of 0 but contains additional data.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-119

The program reads or writes outside the bounds of an allocated buffer, corrupting adjacent memory. With crafted input an attacker can overwrite control data and, with effort, redirect execution to their own code. Remediation ranges from bounds checking and safe library functions to compiler mitigations, usually alongside a careful audit of the surrounding code.

General guidance for the memory buffer bounds error class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Windows Media PlayerApplication
Affected:= 7.1= 9= 10
Windows 2000Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:= r2
Windows 98Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 98seOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows MeOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch secunia.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 or Windows 11 (supported versions with current security updates)

  1. 1. Disconnect affected systems from the network to prevent exploitation during remediation
  2. 2. Identify all systems running Windows Media Player 7.1, 9, or 10 on Windows 2000, XP, 2003, 98, 98se, or Me
  3. 3. Back up critical data on affected systems before making changes
  4. 4. Upgrade to a supported Windows version (Windows 10 or Windows 11) which includes updated Windows Media Player or modern media playback capabilities
  5. 5. Alternatively, if upgrade is not feasible, remove Windows Media Player and install an alternative media player (e.g., VLC media player) that does not have this vulnerability
  6. 6. Reconnect systems to the network only after remediation is complete
Caveat Legacy applications designed for Windows 98/Me/2000/XP may not function on newer Windows versions; some legacy hardware drivers may be incompatible

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

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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-2006-0006 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
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