CVE-2010-3974
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 · uneditedfxscover.exe in the Fax Cover Page Editor in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1 and SP2, Windows Server 2008 Gold, SP2, R2, and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 Gold and SP1 does not properly parse FAX cover pages, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted .cov file, aka "Fax Cover Page Editor Memory Corruption 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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in fxscover.exe (Fax Cover Page Editor) allows remote code execution via specially crafted .cov files. The component fails to properly parse the file structure, leading to heap-based buffer overflow when processing malicious fax cover page files.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:H/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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Confirm Windows version is affectedRun 'winver' or check system properties to identify the Windows version. Affected versions are Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008/R2.Affected if The system runs any of the listed affected Windows versions.
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Locate fxscover.exe componentSearch for fxscover.exe on the system. This file is typically found in the Windows\System32 or Windows\SysWOW64 directories, or within the Fax service folder.Affected if fxscover.exe exists on the system.
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Check if Fax Services is installedOpen Services (services.msc) and look for 'Fax' service, or check Program Files for Fax components. Alternatively, check if the Fax Cover Page Editor can be launched.Affected if Fax service or Fax Cover Page Editor component is installed and available on the system.
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Verify security update is installedCheck Windows Update history or open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates and look for security update related to CVE-2010-3974 (historically MS10-101).Affected if No corresponding security update for this CVE is installed.
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Check for .cov file associationInspect file associations for .cov files or attempt to open a .cov file to see if it triggers fxscover.exe.Affected if The system associates .cov files with fxscover.exe and will open them automatically.
A user is affected if they run an affected Windows version with fxscover.exe present and the CVE-2010-3974 security update not applied.
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 updates for CVE-2010-3974. Alternatively, block .cov file attachments at email gateways and restrict usage of the Fax Cover Page Editor component through software restriction policies.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3974 — 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-2010-3974 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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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