CVE-2010-5246
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 · uneditedMultiple untrusted search path vulnerabilities in Maxthon Browser 1.6.7.35 and 2.5.15 allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse (1) RSRC32.dll or (2) dwmapi.dll file in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .html 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 confidenceMaxthon Browser versions 1.6.7.35 and 2.5.15 contain DLL hijacking vulnerabilities where the application loads malicious DLL files (RSRC32.dll or dwmapi.dll) from the current working directory instead of secure system paths. When a user opens the browser from a directory containing these malicious DLLs, the attacker can achieve privilege escalation.
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= 1.6.7.35= 2.5.15CVSS 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.
-
Identify Maxthon installation pathCheck registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Maxthon or HKCU\SOFTWARE\Maxthon for the default installation path, or search for Maxthon.exe in common program directories.Affected if Maxthon is installed on the system
-
Determine installed Maxthon versionRight-click Maxthon.exe, select Properties, and view the Details tab to see the File Version. Alternatively, run 'wmic datafile where "name='C:\Program Files\Maxthon\Maxthon.exe'" get Version' from command prompt.Affected if The version shown is 1.6.7.35 or 2.5.15 exactly
-
Verify current working directory behaviorLaunch Maxthon from different directories and monitor which DLLs it attempts to load using Process Monitor (procmon.exe) with filters for Path containing 'dwmapi.dll' or 'RSRC32.dll'.Affected if Maxthon loads either RSRC32.dll or dwmapi.dll from the current working directory instead of the Windows system folder
-
Check for presence of vulnerable DLL names in user-accessible directoriesSearch user-downloadable directories (Downloads, Desktop, Documents) for files named RSRC32.dll or dwmapi.dll using 'dir /s /b C:\Users\*\Downloads\RSRC32.dll' and similar commands.Affected if These DLLs exist in directories where a user might launch Maxthon from
You are affected if Maxthon version is exactly 1.6.7.35 or 2.5.15 AND the browser could be launched from a directory containing malicious RSRC32.dll or dwmapi.dll 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 Maxthon from untrusted directories and ensure the browser is launched from trusted locations. Organizations should upgrade to a patched version of Maxthon that implements secure DLL loading mechanisms.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-5246 — 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-2010-5246 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
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.
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