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RealplayerApplication · Realnetworks

CVE-2011-4252

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-11-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 14.0.7 or later.
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 RV10 codec in RealNetworks RealPlayer before 15.0.0 and Mac RealPlayer before 12.0.0.1703 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted sample height.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the RV10 codec of RealPlayer (Windows before 15.0.0, Mac before 12.0.0.1703) where a crafted media file with malicious sample height values can trigger a heap overflow, allowing remote code execution.

MitigationUpdate RealPlayer to version 15.0.0 or later (Windows) or 12.0.0.1703 or later (Mac) to patch the vulnerable RV10 codec. Avoid opening untrusted media files from unknown sources.

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:<= 12.0.0.1701= 7.0= 8.0= 10.0= 10.0.0.305= 10.0.0.331= 10.1= 12.0.0.1569<= 14.0.7= 4= 5= 6

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. Verify RealPlayer is installed
    On Windows: Check for RealPlayer.exe in Program Files or look in Add/Remove Programs. On Mac: Check /Applications for RealPlayer or check Launchpad.
    Affected if RealPlayer is not installed on the system
  2. Determine installed RealPlayer version
    On Windows: Right-click RealPlayer.exe, select Properties, then look at the Version tab. On Mac: Right-click RealPlayer in Applications, select Get Info, and check the Version field.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 15.0.0 on Windows or less than 12.0.0.1703 on Mac, or matches any of these: 12.0.0.1569, 12.0.0.1701, 14.0.7 or lower, 10.1, 10.0.0.331, 10.0.0.305, 10.0, 8.0, 7.0, 6, 5, or 4
  3. Confirm RV10 codec is present
    Open RealPlayer, go to Tools (or RealPlayer menu on Mac), select Preferences, then look for Codec or File Types settings. Look for RV10 listed among supported formats.
    Affected if RV10 codec support is enabled or present in RealPlayer settings
  4. Check for media file handling of RV10 content
    Look in RealPlayer preferences under File Types or Associations to see if .rv, .rm, or other RealVideo formats are associated with RealPlayer.
    Affected if RealVideo file associations are enabled, indicating the vulnerable codec can be invoked when opening malicious files

If RealPlayer is installed with a version less than 15.0.0 (Windows) or 12.0.0.1703 (Mac) and the RV10 codec is enabled, the system is vulnerable to heap overflow via specially crafted media files.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 14.0.7
Interim mitigation

Update RealPlayer to version 15.0.0 or later (Windows) or 12.0.0.1703 or later (Mac) to patch the vulnerable RV10 codec. Avoid opening untrusted media files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

RealPlayer 15.0.0 or later for Windows; RealPlayer 12.0.0.1703 or later for Mac

  1. 1. Check current RealPlayer version by opening RealPlayer and navigating to Help > About RealPlayer
  2. 2. For Windows users: Download RealPlayer 15.0.0 or later from the official RealPlayer website (service.real.com)
  3. 3. For Mac users: Download RealPlayer 12.0.0.1703 or later from the official RealPlayer website (service.real.com)
  4. 4. Uninstall the current version of RealPlayer from your system
  5. 5. Install the newly downloaded fixed version of RealPlayer
  6. 6. Restart your computer after installation completes
  7. 7. Verify the version by checking Help > About RealPlayer to confirm the installation was successful
Caveat Custom settings, playlists, or saved media libraries may need to be reconfigured after upgrading to the new major version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Realplayer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2011-4252 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data