CVE-2011-0029
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 the client in Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, and 7.0 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .rdp file, aka "Remote Desktop Insecure Library Loading 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 confidenceMicrosoft Remote Desktop Connection client versions 5.2 through 7.0 contain an insecure library loading vulnerability where the application loads DLLs from the current working directory before checking system paths. An attacker can place a malicious DLL (e.g., mstscax.dll) in a directory containing a .rdp file; when a user opens the .rdp file, the Trojan horse DLL executes with the user's privileges, allowing 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= 5.2= 6.0= 7.0= 6.1all 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 Remote Desktop Connection client versionRight-click on mstsc.exe (typically in C:\Windows\System32\) and select Properties, then view the Version tab. Alternatively, run 'mstsc.exe /?' from command line to display version information.Affected if Version is 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, or 7.0 (these are the vulnerable versions)
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Verify mstscax.dll existsCheck if mstscax.dll exists in the System32 directory (C:\Windows\System32\mstscax.dll). This is the DLL that gets hijacked in this vulnerability.Affected if The file exists in System32 and the mstsc.exe version is vulnerable
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Confirm .rdp file associationCheck if .rdp files are associated with Remote Desktop Connection by looking at the file type association in Windows Explorer or checking HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.rdp in the Windows Registry.Affected if RDP files are associated with mstsc.exe and the client version is vulnerable
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Check for untrusted DLLs in potentially shared directoriesInspect any directories where .rdp files are stored (such as shared network drives, download folders, or desktop) for any unexpected DLL files, particularly mstscax.dll or other DLLs that could be loaded.Affected if Unexpected DLLs exist in directories containing .rdp files and the client is a vulnerable version
You are affected if the Remote Desktop Connection client version is 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, or 7.0 and the mstscax.dll is present in System32, as this enables the DLL hijacking when opening .rdp files from directories containing malicious DLLs.
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's security update for CVE-2011-0029 to upgrade the affected Remote Desktop Connection client versions. Avoid opening .rdp files from untrusted or shared network directories, and ensure the current working directory does not contain untrusted DLLs.
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- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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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-2011-0029 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
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