CVE-2010-5254
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 GFI Backup 3.1 Build 20100730 2009 Home Edition allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse ArmAccess.dll file in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .gbc or .gbt 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 confidenceGFI Backup 3.1 suffers from an untrusted search path vulnerability where the application loads the ArmAccess.dll library from the current working directory instead of a secure system path. When a user opens a .gbc or .gbt file from a directory containing a malicious ArmAccess.dll, the attacker-specified DLL is executed with the user's privileges, enabling local 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= 3.1CVSS 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 GFI Backup 2009 version 3.1 is installedOpen Windows Registry and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GFI\Backup2009 or check Add/Remove Programs for GFI Backup 2009 version 3.1Affected if The installed version is GFI Backup 2009 version 3.1 exactly
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Confirm ArmAccess.dll is used by the applicationSearch for ArmAccess.dll in the GFI Backup installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\GFI\Backup2009 or similar)Affected if ArmAccess.dll exists in the application directory, indicating the application attempts to load this library
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Check for .gbc and .gbt file associationsOpen Windows Explorer, right-click a .gbc or .gbt file, select Properties, and view the 'Opens with' field, or check HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.gbc and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.gbt in the registryAffected if GFI Backup is associated with opening .gbc or .gbt files, meaning these files trigger the application to load
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Identify if users open files from variable directoriesReview user workflows or interview users about where they typically open .gbc and .gbt backup files from (local drives, network shares, download folders, USB drives)Affected if Users open .gbc or .gbt files from directories that could be controlled by other users or untrusted sources, enabling DLL hijacking
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Check if application directory is in system PATHOpen System Properties > Advanced > Environment Variables and examine the PATH variable, or run 'echo %PATH%' in command promptAffected if The GFI Backup installation directory is NOT in the system PATH, which forces the application to search the current working directory for DLLs including ArmAccess.dll
A user is affected if GFI Backup 2009 version 3.1 is installed and users open .gbc or .gbt files from directories outside the secure application installation folder, allowing a malicious ArmAccess.dll in the file's directory to be loaded with user privileges.
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 opening .gbc or .gbt files from untrusted or shared directories. Upgrade to a patched version if available; if no patch exists, consider migrating to an actively maintained backup solution.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-5254 — 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-2010-5254 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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