CVE-2010-5228
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 RealPlayer SP 1.1.5 12.0.0.879 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse rio500.dll file in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .avi file. NOTE: some of these details are obtained 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 confidenceRealPlayer SP 1.1.5 loads the rio500.dll library from the current working directory instead of using a secure path, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL in a directory containing an .avi file to achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running RealPlayer.
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= 1.1.5CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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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Check if RealPlayer is installedLook for RealPlayer executable in common installation paths: C:\Program Files\Real\RealPlayer\, C:\Program Files (x86)\Real\RealPlayer\, or check Start Menu for RealPlayer entries. Also search for 'realplay.exe' or 'realplayer.exe' on the system.Affected if RealPlayer SP is not found on the system, the user is not affected by this specific vulnerability.
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Identify the installed RealPlayer versionRight-click on the RealPlayer executable (realplay.exe or realplayer.exe), select Properties, then go to the Details tab. Look for the 'File version' or 'Product version' field.Affected if The version listed is exactly 1.1.5 - this is the only affected version for this CVE.
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Confirm the specific product nameIn the same Properties Details window, verify the 'Product name' field shows 'RealPlayer SP' or 'Realnetworks RealPlayer SP'. This CVE affects only the SP (Service Pack) variant at version 1.1.5.Affected if The product is named RealPlayer SP and the version is 1.1.5 - the user is affected.
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Check for the vulnerable DLL behavior contextThis vulnerability exploits the current working directory DLL loading. Users are at risk when opening .avi or other media files from directories (such as downloaded files, shared folders, or USB drives) that might contain a malicious rio500.dll.Affected if The user has RealPlayer SP 1.1.5 and frequently opens media files from directories they do not control - they are vulnerable to DLL hijacking.
The user is affected only if RealPlayer SP version 1.1.5 is installed on the system; any other version or product variant is not vulnerable to this specific CVE.
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 dataUpdate RealPlayer to a version that includes secure DLL loading or remove RealPlayer if unsupported; avoid opening media files from untrusted or shared directories.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-5228 — 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-2010-5228 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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- 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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