CVE-2010-3191
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path vulnerability in Adobe Captivate 5.0.0.596, and possibly other versions, allows local users, and possibly remote attackers, to execute arbitrary code and conduct DLL hijacking attacks via a Trojan horse dwmapi.dll that is located in the same folder as a .cptx file. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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 confidenceAdobe Captivate 5.0.0.596 suffers from an untrusted search path vulnerability allowing DLL hijacking. When opening a .cptx file, the application loads dwmapi.dll from the same directory as the file without validating the path, enabling attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malicious DLL placed alongside the .cptx file.
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= 5.0.0.596CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Adobe Captivate versionOpen Adobe Captivate, go to Help > About Adobe Captivate, or check the version in the application executable properties (right-click Captivate.exe > Properties > Details).Affected if The version displayed is exactly 5.0.0.596.
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Confirm .cptx file usageSearch the system for .cptx files using File Explorer: type '.cptx' in the search box or run 'dir /s /b C:\*.cptx' from an elevated command prompt.Affected if Any .cptx files exist on the system.
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Inspect .cptx directories for dwmapi.dllFor each directory containing .cptx files, check if dwmapi.dll exists in that same directory. Look in common locations like Documents, Desktop, Downloads, and project folders.Affected if A dwmapi.dll file is found in any directory that also contains .cptx files.
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Verify DLL search order behaviorOpen a command prompt in a directory containing a .cptx file, place a test dwmapi.dll there, and launch Captivate while monitoring with Process Monitor (filter by Captivate.exe and Path containing dwmapi.dll).Affected if Captivate loads dwmapi.dll from the .cptx file's directory instead of the system directory.
You are affected if Adobe Captivate version 5.0.0.596 is installed and you open .cptx files from directories where an attacker could place a malicious dwmapi.dll.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of Adobe Captivate if available; if the vulnerable version must be used, ensure .cptx files are only opened from trusted directories and consider implementing DLL search order removal via application configuration or monitoring for suspicious dwmapi.dll placement.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3191 — 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-2010-3191 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
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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