dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 6 Oct 2022.
Windows 7Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2010-2568

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2010-07-22
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit No privileges Patch available

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
Windows Shell in Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Server 2003 SP2, Vista SP1 and SP2, Server 2008 SP2 and R2, and Windows 7 allows local users or remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) .LNK or (2) .PIF shortcut file, which is not properly handled during icon display in Windows Explorer, as demonstrated in the wild in July 2010, and originally reported for malware that leverages CVE-2010-2772 in Siemens WinCC SCADA systems.

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

Windows Shell fails to properly validate .LNK and .PIF shortcut files when rendering their icons in Windows Explorer. Attackers can craft malicious shortcut files that cause Windows to execute arbitrary code when the shortcut's icon is displayed, without requiring user interaction beyond viewing the file in Explorer.

MitigationApply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-046 (or subsequent cumulative Windows updates that supersede it) to all affected systems. For SCADA environments, also apply Siemens-specific patches and disable autorun features.

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 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2003Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating 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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version and build number.
    Affected if The version is Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 (all versions of these releases are affected).
  2. Check for security update MS10-046
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' or 'Get-HotFix -Id KB2286198' in PowerShell to verify KB2286198 is installed.
    Affected if The security update KB2286198 (MS10-046) is NOT installed. If missing, the system is vulnerable.
  3. Verify subsequent cumulative updates
    Check Windows Update history or run 'wmic qfe list' to list all installed hotfixes. Look for later cumulative updates that supersede MS10-046.
    Affected if No subsequent security updates containing the LNK/PIF fix are installed. The system remains vulnerable if neither MS10-046 nor later updates are present.
  4. Confirm Shell shortcut processing is active
    The vulnerability is triggered when Windows Explorer displays icons for .LNK or .PIF files. This is default behavior; no additional configuration needed for exploitation.
    Affected if Windows Explorer is used and shortcut files (.LNK, .PIF) exist on the system. Any viewing of these files in Explorer triggers icon processing.

A system is affected if it runs any unpatched version of Windows XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, or Server 2008 R2 where the MS10-046 (KB2286198) or later superseding security update has not been installed.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch www.kb.cert.org →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-046 (or subsequent cumulative Windows updates that supersede it) to all affected systems. For SCADA environments, also apply Siemens-specific patches and disable autorun features.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft security update MS10-046 (for supported systems) or migrate to a supported Windows version

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-046, which addresses the Windows Shell shortcut icon vulnerability (CVE-2010-2568)
  2. Ensure automatic updates are enabled or manually check for and install the latest Windows security updates
  3. For Windows XP and Server 2003 which have reached end-of-support, consider upgrading to a supported operating system version if patches are no longer available
Caveat Windows XP and Server 2003 are end-of-life and no longer receive security updates; Windows Vista mainstream support has ended

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

Fix this in Windows 7 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-2568 — 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-2010-2568 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