dbcve.org
Windows 2000Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2010-0480

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-04-14
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
High EPSS 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
Multiple stack-based buffer overflows in the MPEG Layer-3 audio codecs in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP2, Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2, and Server 2008 Gold and SP2 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted AVI file, aka "MPEG Layer-3 Audio Decoder Stack 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

This is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the MPEG Layer-3 audio codec component of Windows. When processing a specially crafted AVI file containing malicious audio data, the codec fails to properly validate input size, allowing an attacker to overwrite stack memory and execute arbitrary code with user privileges.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS10-026) to all affected systems. Until patches are applied, exercise caution with untrusted AVI files and consider disabling the affected MPEG Layer-3 codec as a temporary workaround.

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 2000Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2003Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions

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 Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the Windows version
    Affected if The version is Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008 (all versions)
  2. Locate the MPEG Layer-3 codec file
    Search for the file 'l3codecx.ax' in the system32 directory (typically C:\Windows\System32\l3codecx.ax) using 'dir C:\Windows\System32\l3codecx.ax'
    Affected if The file l3codecx.ax exists on the system
  3. Verify codec is registered
    Check Windows registry for the codec registration under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OptionalComponents\MP3 or query using 'reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OptionalComponents'
    Affected if The MPEG Layer-3 codec is listed as an installed optional component

A system is affected if it runs an affected Windows version (2000, XP, 2003, Vista, Server 2008) AND has the MPEG Layer-3 codec (l3codecx.ax) present and 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 the relevant Microsoft security update (MS10-026) to all affected systems. Until patches are applied, exercise caution with untrusted AVI files and consider disabling the affected MPEG Layer-3 codec as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

For Windows XP: Upgrade to Windows XP SP3 with latest updates, or migrate to a supported OS (Windows 7+) | For Windows Vista: Upgrade to Windows Vista SP2 with latest updates, or migrate to Windows 7/10/11 | For Windows Server 2003: Migrate to Windows Server 2008 R2 or later | For Windows Server 200

  1. Open Windows Update or Microsoft Update to check for available updates
  2. Locate and install security update MS10-026 (MPEG Layer-3 Audio Decoder Vulnerability)
  3. If running Windows 2000 SP4, note that Microsoft did not release a patch for this OS due to end of life - upgrade to a supported operating system is required
  4. After applying the update, restart the affected system
  5. Verify the update was installed successfully by checking Windows Update history
Caveat Windows 2000 has no patch available and is end-of-life; systems must be replaced. Applying patches to older systems may require legacy compatibility considerations.

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

Fix this in Windows 2000 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2010-0480 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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