CVE-2006-3448
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in the Step-by-Step Interactive Training in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 and Professional, and Server 2003 SP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long Syllabus string in crafted bookmark link files (cbo, cbl, or .cbm), a different issue than CVE-2005-1212.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow in Microsoft Step-by-Step Interactive Training allows remote code execution via specially crafted bookmark link files (.cbo, .cbl, .cbm) containing an overly long Syllabus string. The vulnerability affects Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2/Professional, and Server 2003 SP1.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
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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Check if Step-by-Step Interactive Training is installedLook for the program in Add/Remove Programs (appwiz.cpl) or check for the directory Program Files\Microsoft Step By Step Interactive TrainingAffected if The software is installed on the system
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Verify .cbo file associationCheck the Windows registry under HKCR\.cbo for the default value indicating the associated applicationAffected if The .cbo extension is associated with Step-by-Step Interactive Training or shows a ProgID containing the application name
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Verify .cbl file associationCheck the Windows registry under HKCR\.cbl for the default value indicating the associated applicationAffected if The .cbl extension is associated with Step-by-Step Interactive Training or shows a ProgID containing the application name
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Verify .cbm file associationCheck the Windows registry under HKCR\.cbm for the default value indicating the associated applicationAffected if The .cbm extension is associated with Step-by-Step Interactive Training or shows a ProgID containing the application name
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Check for vulnerable executable versionIf the software is installed, locate the main executable (typically Train.exe or similar) in the program directory and check its file version propertiesAffected if The installed version matches any version of the affected software (all versions are vulnerable)
The system is affected if Microsoft Step-by-Step Interactive Training is installed AND one or more of the .cbo, .cbl, or .cbm file extensions are associated with that application, as this allows the specially crafted bookmark files to trigger the buffer overflow.
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 dataApply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability. If patching is not feasible, disable or remove the Step-by-Step Interactive Training software and block .cbo, .cbl, and .cbm file associations at the endpoint level.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-3448 — 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-2006-3448 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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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