CVE-2006-0766
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 · uneditedICQ Inc. (formerly Mirabilis) ICQ 2003a, 2003b, Lite 4.0, Lite 4.1, and possibly other Windows versions allows user-assisted remote attackers to hide malicious file extensions and bypass Windows security warnings via a filename that ends in an assumed-safe extension such as JPG, and possibly containing other modified properties such as company name, icon, and description, which could trick a user into executing arbitrary programs.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in older ICQ clients (2003a, 2003b, Lite 4.0/4.1) allows attackers to disguise malicious executables as safe files (e.g., JPG) by manipulating file metadata properties like extension, company name, icon, and description, bypassing Windows security warnings and tricking users into executing arbitrary 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= 2003a= 2003b= 4.0= 4.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Locate ICQ installation directorySearch the system for ICQ executables (icq.exe, icqlite.exe) or check common install paths like C:\Program Files\ICQ or C:\Program Files\Mirabilis\ICQAffected if ICQ executable files are found on the system
-
Identify ICQ versionRight-click the ICQ executable, select Properties, and check the Version tab for the FileVersion or ProductVersion fieldAffected if Version shows 2003a, 2003b, 4.0, or 4.1 (or Lite versions matching 4.0/4.1)
-
Confirm product nameIn the same Properties dialog, check the Product Name field under the Version tab for 'ICQ' or 'ICQ Lite'Affected if Product name matches 'Mirabilis ICQ' or 'ICQ Lite' with vulnerable versions
-
Verify file spoofing vulnerability existsAttempt to receive a file with manipulated metadata (e.g., double extension like file.jpg.exe) through ICQ to confirm the client does not validate file properties properlyAffected if The ICQ client accepts and displays files with misleading metadata without warning
A user is affected if any ICQ client version 2003a, 2003b, Lite 4.0, or Lite 4.1 from Mirabilis is installed 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 dataOrganizations should remove legacy ICQ clients from systems, implement user awareness training to recognize social engineering via file spoofing, and deploy endpoint protection capable of detecting suspicious file properties and masquerading attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-0766 — 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-2006-0766 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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