CVE-2010-1883
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 · uneditedInteger overflow in the Embedded OpenType (EOT) Font Engine in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1 and SP2, Windows Server 2008 Gold, SP2, and R2, and Windows 7 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted table in an embedded font, aka "Embedded OpenType Font Integer 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 confidenceInteger overflow vulnerability in the Windows Embedded OpenType (EOT) Font Engine allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted table in an embedded font file. The overflow occurs during font parsing, enabling attackers to corrupt memory and achieve code execution when a user views a specially crafted web page or opens a malicious document containing the malformed font.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
-
Verify Windows version is affectedOpen Command Prompt and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the Windows edition and versionAffected if The version is Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008/R2
-
Confirm security update KB980232 is missingOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' in Command Prompt, and search for KB980232Affected if The update KB980232 is NOT listed among installed updates (the system remains vulnerable)
-
Check font engine DLL versionLocate the font handling DLLs (fntcache.dll, fontsub.dll, or gdi32.dll in System32) and check their file properties for version information. The vulnerable versions pre-date the June 2010 security bulletin MS10-032Affected if The DLL version is older than the version released with KB980232 (typically pre-June 2010)
-
Identify if embedded fonts are processedCheck if the system handles EOT fonts by examining browser settings (Internet Explorer has a flag for enabling embedded fonts) or by reviewing application logs if font parsing occursAffected if Embedded OpenType (EOT) font rendering is enabled and untrusted documents/web pages are opened on the system
The system is affected if it runs an affected Windows version (XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003/2008) AND lacks security update KB980232 AND processes embedded fonts.
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 dataApply Microsoft security update KB980232 (or subsequent cumulative updates containing this fix) to all affected Windows systems. Restrict handling of untrusted font files and disable embedded font rendering in untrusted contexts as a defense-in-depth measure.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-1883 — 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-2010-1883 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