ItunesApplication · Apple

CVE-2010-1795

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-08-20
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
Untrusted search path vulnerability in Apple iTunes before 9.1, when running on Windows 7, Vista, and XP, allows local users and possibly remote attackers to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory.

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 DLL hijacking (untrusted search path) vulnerability in Apple iTunes versions prior to 9.1 running on Windows 7, Vista, and XP. When iTunes executes, it loads dynamic link libraries from the current working directory before checking system directories, allowing an attacker who can place a malicious DLL in the same directory as iTunes to achieve code execution with the privileges of the user running iTunes, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

MitigationUpdate Apple iTunes to version 9.1 or later, which includes proper DLL search path handling. Alternatively, ensure iTunes is launched from trusted directories and avoid running it from directories writable by other users.

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
ItunesApplication
Affected:= 1.0= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 3.0.0= 3.0.1= 4.0.0= 4.0.1

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 Apple iTunes is installed
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\iTunes.exe, or look for iTunes in Program Files folder
    Affected if iTunes executable is found on the system
  2. Identify installed iTunes version
    Right-click iTunes in the Start menu and select Properties, or use command: reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Apple Computer, Inc.\iTunes" /v Version
    Affected if Returned version is lower than 9.1 (such as 9.0.x, 4.x, 3.x, 2.x, or 1.x)
  3. Verify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or check System Properties
    Affected if Running Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 (the OS versions mentioned as affected)
  4. Confirm vulnerable DLL search path behavior
    Attempt to launch iTunes from a directory writable by other users, or inspect iTunes executable with a tool like Process Monitor to observe DLL loading behavior
    Affected if iTunes attempts to load DLLs from the current working directory before system directories

User is affected if iTunes version 9.0 or earlier is installed on Windows XP, Vista, or 7 and the application can be launched from or can load DLLs from directories outside the system paths.

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

Update Apple iTunes to version 9.1 or later, which includes proper DLL search path handling. Alternatively, ensure iTunes is launched from trusted directories and avoid running it from directories writable by other users.

Recommended fix High confidence

iTunes 9.1 or later

  1. Download and install iTunes 9.1 or later from the official Apple website (support.apple.com)
  2. After installation, verify the installed version by opening iTunes and going to Help > About iTunes
  3. Confirm the version number is 9.1 or higher
Caveat iTunes upgrades typically retain user library data; however, always backup iTunes library before upgrading as a precautionary measure

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

Fix this in Itunes Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2010-1795 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
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