dbcve.org
Windows Movie MakerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0265

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-03-10
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
Buffer overflow in Microsoft Windows Movie Maker 2.1, 2.6, and 6.0, and Microsoft Producer 2003, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted project (.MSWMM) file, aka "Movie Maker and Producer Buffer Overflow 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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Movie Maker (versions 2.1, 2.6, and 6.0) and Microsoft Producer 2003 allows remote code execution when processing specially crafted project (.MSWMM) files. The vulnerability occurs during file parsing of the project file format.

MitigationApply Microsoft's security patches for this vulnerability, or upgrade to newer versions of Movie Maker/Producer. As a compensating control, restrict or disable the .MSWMM file association and limit access to Movie Maker and Producer applications until patches are applied.

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
Windows Movie MakerApplication
Affected:= 2.1= 2.6= 6.0
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions
ProducerApplication
Affected:= 2003

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. Check if Windows Movie Maker is installed
    Navigate to C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Movie Maker\ and verify moviemk.exe exists. Right-click moviemk.exe, select Properties, and view the Version tab to obtain the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.1, 2.6, or 6.0
  2. Check if Microsoft Producer 2003 is installed
    Navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Producer 2.0\ and verify producer.exe exists. Right-click producer.exe, select Properties, and view the Version tab to confirm version 2003.
    Affected if Microsoft Producer version 2003 is installed
  3. Verify .MSWMM file type association
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mswmm to confirm the file extension is registered, then check HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\mswmmfile\shell\open\command to see the associated application.
    Affected if The .MSWMM file association points to Movie Maker or Producer and the application is vulnerable (versions 2.1, 2.6, 6.0, or Producer 2003)
  4. Check Windows operating system version
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winver' or right-click Computer > Properties to view the Windows version. Confirm whether the OS is Windows XP or Windows Vista.
    Affected if The system is running Windows XP or Windows Vista and has a vulnerable version of Movie Maker (2.1, 2.6, or 6.0) or Producer 2003 installed

A system is affected if it runs Windows XP or Windows Vista with Movie Maker version 2.1, 2.6, or 6.0, or Microsoft Producer 2003, and the .MSWMM file association is enabled.

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

Apply Microsoft's security patches for this vulnerability, or upgrade to newer versions of Movie Maker/Producer. As a compensating control, restrict or disable the .MSWMM file association and limit access to Movie Maker and Producer applications until patches are applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Update (refer to MS10-xxx for CVE-2010-0265)

  1. Open Windows Update or Microsoft Update on the affected system
  2. Check for and install all available security updates for Windows
  3. Alternatively, manually download and install the relevant security update from https://catalog.update.microsoft.com/
  4. Restart the system after applying updates
  5. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking the installed updates list
Caveat Note: Microsoft Producer 2003 and older Movie Maker versions may have reached end of support; consider upgrading to newer multimedia authoring tools

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

Fix this in Windows Movie Maker Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-0265 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2010-0265 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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