CVE-2010-5231
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 DivX Player 7.2.019 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse VersionCheckDLL.dll file in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .avi 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 · moderate confidenceDivX Player 7.2.019 is vulnerable to an untrusted search path (DLL hijacking) issue where it loads VersionCheckDLL.dll from the current working directory without validating the full path. An attacker can place a malicious DLL with this name in a directory containing media files (e.g., .avi files), and when a user opens the media file with DivX Player from that directory, the trojan horse DLL executes with the privileges of the user.
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= 7.2.0.19CVSS 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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Verify DivX Player versionCheck the installed version of DivX Player by examining the program file properties or checking the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\DivXPlayer (or similar DivX uninstall key)Affected if The installed version is exactly 7.2.0.19 (the only affected version)
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Locate legitimate VersionCheckDLL.dllSearch for VersionCheckDLL.dll within the DivX Player installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\DivX\DivX Player\ or similar)Affected if VersionCheckDLL.dll exists in the installation directory, confirming this is the DLL subject to hijacking
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Detect suspicious DLL in user directoriesSearch for VersionCheckDLL.dll in common user directories containing media files: Downloads, Documents, Desktop, and folders with .avi/.mkv/.mp4 files. Use: dir /s /b C:\Users\*\VersionCheckDLL.dll 2>nulAffected if VersionCheckDLL.dll is found in any user-accessible directory other than the legitimate installation folder
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Check for DLL in current working directoryOpen DivX Player from a directory containing media files and inspect which directory VersionCheckDLL.dll would be loaded from. Check the process working directory using Task Manager or Process ExplorerAffected if DivX Player's working directory can be set to a user-controlled location containing media files
You are affected if DivX Player version 7.2.0.19 is installed and VersionCheckDLL.dll can be loaded from directories outside the secure installation path, particularly from folders containing media files.
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 dataUsers should avoid launching DivX Player from directories containing untrusted media files. The vendor should implement secure DLL loading by using full paths to DLLs and/or restricting DLL search paths to trusted system directories.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-5231 — 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-2010-5231 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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