CVE-2006-1388
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 allows remote attackers to execute HTA files via unknown vectors.
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 · moderate confidenceThis is a 2006 vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6.0 that allows remote attackers to execute HTA (HTML Application) files through unspecified vectors. HTA files can run with full local privileges (like standalone applications) and execute VBScript or JScript, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution on the affected system.
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= 6.0= 6.0CVSS 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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Confirm Internet Explorer versionOpen Internet Explorer, click Help > About Internet Explorer, or run 'winver' from command prompt to display version informationAffected if The displayed version is exactly 6.0 (build 6.0.XXXX)
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Locate iexplore.exe on the systemSearch for iexplore.exe in typical installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\, or use the command 'where /r C:\ iexplore.exe'Affected if The iexplore.exe executable exists and its version property shows 6.0
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Check HTA file type associationOpen Control Panel > Folder Options > File Types, or run 'assoc .hta' from command prompt to see if .hta extension is registeredAffected if The .hta extension is present and associated with an application (typically htmlfile)
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Verify HTA handling is not disabled via registryCheck registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\htafile\shell\open\command for the command used to open HTA files, or verify HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer does not contain DisableHTA value set to 1Affected if The HTA file type is registered and no policy actively blocks HTA execution
A system is affected if Internet Explorer version 6.0 is installed and HTA file handling is enabled, allowing malicious HTA files to execute with full local privileges when triggered through the browser.
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 dataSince IE6 is obsolete and no longer supported, the primary remediation is to upgrade to a supported browser (modern IE or Edge). If legacy applications require IE6, consider disabling HTA file handling or using application virtualization/containerization to isolate the browser.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-1388 — 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 sources- archives.neohapsis.com
- jeffrey.vanderstad.net
- news.zdnet.com
- secunia.com
- securitytracker.com
- www.kb.cert.org
- www.osvdb.org
- www.securityfocus.com
- www.us-cert.gov
- www.vupen.com
- docs.microsoft.com
- exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com
- oval.cisecurity.org
- oval.cisecurity.org
- oval.cisecurity.org
- oval.cisecurity.org
- oval.cisecurity.org
- nvd.nist.gov
Practitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2006-1388 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