RealplayerApplication · Realnetworks

CVE-2011-1426

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-04-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The OpenURLInDefaultBrowser method in RealNetworks RealPlayer 11.0 through 11.1 and 14.0.0 through 14.0.2, and RealPlayer SP 1.0 through 1.1.5, launches a default handler for the filename specified in the first argument, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a .rnx filename corresponding to a crafted RNX file.

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 confidence

The OpenURLInDefaultBrowser method in RealNetworks RealPlayer versions 11.0-11.1, 14.0.0-14.0.2, and SP 1.0-1.1.5 improperly handles the filename argument, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying a crafted RNX file that gets processed by the system's default handler.

MitigationApply vendor patches from RealNetworks to update to a non-vulnerable RealPlayer version, or uninstall RealPlayer if unnecessary, as the vulnerability allows complete system compromise via the OpenURLInDefaultBrowser method.

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
RealplayerApplication
Affected:= 11.0= 11.1= 14.0.0= 14.0.1= 14.0.2
Realplayer SpApplication
Affected:= 1.0.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.5= 1.1= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1.5

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine if RealPlayer is installed
    Check your system for RealPlayer by looking in Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac), or search for RealPlayer executables on the system
    Affected if RealPlayer is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed RealPlayer version
    Open RealPlayer and navigate to Help > About, or check the program's version property, or examine the version information of the RealPlayer executable in Program Files
    Affected if The installed version matches 11.0, 11.1, 14.0.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.2, or any SP version from 1.0.0 through 1.1.5
  3. Check RNX file association
    Verify if .rnx files are associated with RealPlayer as the default handler by examining file type associations in your operating system settings
    Affected if RealPlayer is set as the default handler for RNX files and those files can be opened automatically

You are affected if RealPlayer versions 11.0-11.1, 14.0.0-14.0.2, or SP 1.0-1.1.5 are installed and RNX files can be processed by the application.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patches from RealNetworks to update to a non-vulnerable RealPlayer version, or uninstall RealPlayer if unnecessary, as the vulnerability allows complete system compromise via the OpenURLInDefaultBrowser method.

Fix this in Realplayer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,050
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-1426 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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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