CVE-2006-3638
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Internet Explorer 5.01 and 6 does not properly handle uninitialized COM objects, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) and possibly execute arbitrary code, as demonstrated by the Nth function in the DirectAnimation.DATuple ActiveX control, aka "COM Object Instantiation Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
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 confidenceInternet Explorer 5.01 and 6 fails to properly initialize COM objects before use. The DirectAnimation.DATuple ActiveX control contains a flaw where uninitialized memory is accessed during object instantiation, leading to memory corruption. This can be exploited remotely to cause denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code via malformed ActiveX object creation.
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= 5.0.1= 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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Identify installed Internet Explorer versionOpen Internet Explorer, click Help > About Internet Explorer, or run 'winver' command, or check the version in Programs and FeaturesAffected if The installed version is Internet Explorer 5.01 or Internet Explorer 6.0
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Confirm the DirectAnimation.DATuple ActiveX control existsCheck Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID for entries containing DirectAnimation.DATuple or the control's CLSID, or look for the DLL file (danimation.dll) in the systemAffected if The DirectAnimation.DATuple ActiveX control is registered on the system
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Verify ActiveX controls are enabled in Internet ExplorerIn Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level, and check the 'ActiveX controls and plugins' settingsAffected if ActiveX controls are set to Enabled or Prompt for the relevant security zone
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Check for the control's kill bit or blocking entryExamine the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\CurrentVersion\Ext\PreApproved or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{CLSID}\Enabled to see if the control is explicitly blockedAffected if No kill bit or blocking entry exists for the DirectAnimation.DATuple control, leaving it executable
You are affected if Internet Explorer version 5.01 or 6.0 is installed AND the DirectAnimation.DATuple ActiveX control is present and not disabled via kill bit or Group Policy.
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 dataDisable the DirectAnimation.DATuple ActiveX control in Internet Explorer via Group Policy or registry settings, and consider upgrading to a supported Internet Explorer version or migrating to Microsoft Edge.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-3638 — 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-2006-3638 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
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