CVE-2006-0564
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft HTML Help Workshop 4.74.8702.0, and possibly earlier versions, and as included in the Microsoft HTML Help 1.4 SDK, allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code via a .hhp file with a long Contents file field.
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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow in Microsoft HTML Help Workshop when parsing .hhp project files. The vulnerability is triggered by providing a specially crafted .hhp file containing an excessively long Contents file field value, which overflows a stack-based buffer and allows arbitrary code execution by context-dependent attackers.
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= 1.4= 4.74.8702.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Microsoft HTML Help Workshop is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'appwiz.cpl' and look for Microsoft HTML Help Workshop in the list of installed programsAffected if Microsoft HTML Help Workshop appears in the installed programs list
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Determine the installed version of HTML Help WorkshopLocate the executable (typically in C:\Program Files\HTML Help Workshop or C:\Program Files (x86)\HTML Help Workshop), right-click hh.exe, select Properties, and check the Version tab for the file versionAffected if The version shown is 4.74.8702.0 or earlier
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Check for Microsoft HTML Help component versionOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\HTMLHelp, or search for hhupd.exe in the system and check its version propertiesAffected if The HTML Help version is listed as 1.4 or earlier, or the version cannot be determined / is missing (indicating legacy unpatched installation
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Identify .hhp project files being processedSearch the system for .hhp files, particularly in development directories, help authoring folders, or downloaded locations. Open any found .hhp files in a text editor and inspect the [OPTIONS] section for the Contents= entryAffected if A .hhp file contains a Contents= field with an unusually long path value (typically hundreds of characters or more)
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Check for known malicious .hhp filesIf you have security logs or an endpoint detection solution, search for recent .hhp file openings or parsing events, particularly from untrusted or unknown sourcesAffected if Recent .hhp files with excessively long Content file field values have been opened
A user is affected if Microsoft HTML Help Workshop version 4.74.8702.0 or earlier, or Microsoft HTML Help version 1.4 or earlier, is installed and processes a specially crafted .hhp file with an overly long Contents field value.
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 dataAvoid opening untrusted or unverified .hhp files. Microsoft HTML Help Workshop 4.74.8702.0 and earlier versions should be updated if patches are available; otherwise, consider migrating to alternative HTML help authoring tools as this is a legacy component.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-0564 — 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-2006-0564 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