CVE-2006-5820
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 · uneditedThe LinkSBIcons method in the SuperBuddy ActiveX control (Sb.SuperBuddy.1) in America Online 9.0 Security Edition dereferences an arbitrary function pointer, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a modified pointer value.
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 confidenceThe SuperBuddy ActiveX control (Sb.SuperBuddy.1) in AOL 9.0 Security Edition contains a flaw in its LinkSBIcons method that dereferences an arbitrary function pointer supplied by an attacker. By modifying this pointer value, a remote attacker can redirect execution flow to arbitrary code, achieving remote code execution without authentication.
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= 9.0CVSS 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
- 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.
-
Confirm AOL 9.0 installationCheck Program Files for AOL folder or look in Add/Remove Programs for AOL 9.0 entry. Also check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AOL or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\AOL for version information.Affected if AOL 9.0 is installed on the system
-
Check if SuperBuddy ActiveX control is registeredQuery the Windows registry for CLSID {98c53984-8bf8-4d11-9e1c-aad6e1c3c9c0} under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID or check for Sb.SuperBuddy.1 under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Use reg query command.Affected if The Sb.SuperBuddy.1 CLSID is present in the registry, indicating the control is registered
-
Locate SuperBuddy DLL fileSearch for sbuddy.dll or SuperBuddy.dll in the AOL installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\AOL 9.0 or C:\Program Files\Common Files\AOL.Affected if The SuperBuddy DLL file exists in the AOL installation folder
-
Check browser ActiveX safety settingsIn Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level, or check registry values under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ActiveXCache\{CLSID} to see if the control is allowed to run.Affected if The ActiveX control is not set to 'Prompt' or 'Disabled' in browser security settings, meaning it can be instantiated
If AOL 9.0 is installed AND the SuperBuddy ActiveX control (Sb.SuperBuddy.1) is registered on the system AND browser settings allow this ActiveX to run, the system is vulnerable to remote code execution via the LinkSBIcons method flaw.
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 or remove the vulnerable SuperBuddy ActiveX control (Sb.SuperBuddy.1) from affected systems. If the component cannot be removed, configure browser security settings or group policy to block instantiation of this ActiveX control, and implement network-level blocking of malicious payloads.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,880.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-5820 — 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-2006-5820 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