Movie DecoderApplication · VMware
CVE-2012-4897
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 installer in VMware Movie Decoder before 9.0 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse executable file in the installer directory.
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 confidenceThe VMware Movie Decoder installer (versions prior to 9.0) suffers from an untrusted search path vulnerability where it executes executable files from its current working directory without verifying their origin. A local attacker with write access to the directory containing the installer can place a malicious executable that will be launched with elevated privileges during the installation process, achieving 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
Movie DecoderApplication
<= 7.1.2= 6.5.2= 6.5.3= 6.5.4= 6.5.5= 7.0CVSS 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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Identify if VMware Movie Decoder is installedCheck the system for VMware Movie Decoder installation. On Windows, look in Add/Remove Programs or check typical installation paths such as C:\Program Files\VMware\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\ for a folder named 'Movie Decoder' or similar. Also check the Windows Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\VMware for Movie Decoder entries.Affected if VMware Movie Decoder is found on the system
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Determine the installed versionLocate the VMware Movie Decoder executable or DLL files and check their version properties. Right-click the main executable (typically named vmware-movie-decoder.exe or similar in the installation directory), select Properties, and view the Version tab. Alternatively, use the command 'wmic product where "name like '%Movie Decoder%'" get version' if available, or check the uninstall registry key at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for VMware Movie Decoder entries.Affected if The version displayed is 7.1.2 or lower, or specifically 6.5.2, 6.5.3, 6.5.4, 6.5.5, or 7.0
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Verify if installation occurred from a directory with elevated privilegesReview installation logs or audit logs around the time of VMware Movie Decoder installation. Check if the installer was launched from a directory that could be writable by other users, such as Downloads, temp directories, or network shares with broad write permissions.Affected if The installer was run from a world-writable or shared directory where untrusted users could place files
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Confirm whether the vulnerable installer was executedCheck system audit logs, installation history, or Windows Event Viewer logs for events related to VMware Movie Decoder installation. Look for evidence of the installer (setup.exe, installer.exe, or similar) being executed.Affected if Installation event logs show VMware Movie Decoder installer was run on this system
The system is affected if VMware Movie Decoder version 7.1.2 or lower, or any of the specific versions 6.5.2 through 6.5.5 or 7.0, is installed and the installer was executed from a directory with write access for untrusted users.
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 dataUpgrade to VMware Movie Decoder version 9.0 or later. Additionally, run installers from trusted sources and avoid placing or downloading installers to world-writable directories.
Fix this in Movie Decoder
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4897 — 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-2012-4897 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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- 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