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RealplayerApplication · Realnetworks

CVE-2009-0376

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-02-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Heap-based buffer overflow in a DLL file in RealNetworks RealPlayer 10, RealPlayer 10.5 6.0.12.1040 through 6.0.12.1741, RealPlayer 11 11.0.0 through 11.0.4, RealPlayer Enterprise, Mac RealPlayer 10 and 10.1, Linux RealPlayer 10, and Helix Player 10.x allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Internet Video Recording (IVR) file with a modified field that controls an unspecified structure length and triggers heap corruption, related to use of RealPlayer through a Windows Explorer plugin.

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 confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow in a RealPlayer DLL component allows remote code execution via crafted IVR files. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of a length field controlling structure size, leading to heap corruption when parsing malicious Internet Video Recording files through the Windows Explorer plugin.

MitigationPatch or upgrade affected RealPlayer installations to latest supported versions, or replace with alternative media players; disable the Windows Explorer plugin if possible; restrict handling of untrusted IVR files.

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
RealplayerApplication
Affected:= 11

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify RealPlayer version
    Check installed RealPlayer version by launching the application and going to Help > About RealPlayer, or locate the executable (usually in Program Files/Real/RealPlayer) and check its properties
    Affected if Version is exactly 11.0.x (RealPlayer 11)
  2. Confirm Windows Explorer plugin is enabled
    In RealPlayer, go to Tools > Preferences > Plugins and check if the Windows Explorer plugin is enabled, or check Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\RealNetworks\RealPlayer\6.0\Plugins\Explorer
    Affected if Windows Explorer plugin is enabled and loaded by the browser/shell
  3. Locate vulnerable DLL component
    Check for the presence of ivrplug.dll or ralmime.dll in the RealPlayer installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Real\RealPlayer\), as this is the DLL component handling IVR file parsing
    Affected if The IVR handling DLL exists in the RealPlayer directory
  4. Check IVR file association
    Examine file associations for .ivr extension in Windows Registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ivr or look at RealPlayer's supported file types in Preferences
    Affected if IVR file type association is registered with RealPlayer

A user is affected if they have RealPlayer version 11 installed with the Windows Explorer plugin enabled and IVR file handling active, allowing malicious IVR files to trigger the heap overflow during parsing.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Patch or upgrade affected RealPlayer installations to latest supported versions, or replace with alternative media players; disable the Windows Explorer plugin if possible; restrict handling of untrusted IVR files.

Recommended fix High confidence

RealPlayer 11.1 or later (latest available version)

  1. Open RealPlayer and navigate to Help > Check for Updates to download the latest version
  2. Alternatively, visit the official RealNetworks download page at service.real.com to obtain the latest RealPlayer version
  3. Ensure the installed version is newer than 11.0.4 (the last vulnerable version for RealPlayer 11)
  4. Verify the update was successful by checking Help > About RealPlayer to confirm the installed version number
Caveat Minor - RealPlayer may require reconfiguration of preferences after upgrade; ensure any saved settings or playlists are backed up

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Realplayer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,340
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-0376 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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