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PidginApplication

CVE-2013-6486

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-02-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.10.7 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
gtkutils.c in Pidgin before 2.10.8 on Windows allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs via a message containing a file: URL that is improperly handled during construction of an explorer.exe command. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2011-3185.

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

gtkutils.c in Pidgin before 2.10.8 on Windows improperly handles file: URLs when constructing explorer.exe commands, allowing user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs via specially crafted file: URLs in messages. This is an incomplete fix for CVE-2011-3185.

MitigationUpgrade Pidgin to version 2.10.8 or later to obtain the complete fix for this vulnerability.

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
PidginApplication
Affected:<= 2.10.7= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.1.0= 2.1.1= 2.2.0= 2.2.1= 2.2.2= 2.3.0= 2.3.1= 2.4.0

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. Confirm Windows environment
    Verify the operating system is Windows. This vulnerability only affects Pidgin running on Windows, not Linux or macOS.
    Affected if Running Pidgin on Windows platforms - the flaw exists only in the Windows-specific code in gtkutils.c that handles file: URLs for explorer.exe commands.
  2. Locate Pidgin installation
    Check for Pidgin installation directory. On Windows, typical paths are C:\Program Files\Pidgin\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\. Look for pidgin.exe.
    Affected if Pidgin is installed on the system.
  3. Determine Pidgin version
    Right-click pidgin.exe, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the File Version. Alternatively, launch Pidgin and go to Help > About Pidgin.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.10.7 or earlier, or any version from the affected list (2.0.0 through 2.3.1, 2.4.0, up to 2.10.7).
  4. Verify vulnerability context applies
    This flaw is triggered when Pidgin processes specially crafted file: URLs in incoming messages (IM, chat, etc.). The vulnerability allows arbitrary program execution through malformed file: URLs that are mishandled when constructing explorer.exe commands.
    Affected if Running an affected Pidgin version on Windows and receiving untrusted messages containing file: URLs could trigger the vulnerable code path.

You are affected if running Pidgin version 2.10.7 or earlier on Windows, where specially crafted file: URLs in messages can cause arbitrary program execution through improper handling in the gtkutils.c file.

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 2.10.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Pidgin to version 2.10.8 or later to obtain the complete fix for this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pidgin 2.10.8 or later

  1. 1. Check current Pidgin version: Open Pidgin, go to Help > About, or run 'pidgin --version' from command line
  2. 2. If version is 2.10.7 or earlier, close Pidgin completely
  3. 3. Download Pidgin 2.10.8 or later from the official website (https://pidgin.im/download/)
  4. 4. Run the installer/upgrade package for your Windows version
  5. 5. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version by opening Pidgin and checking Help > About to confirm version 2.10.8 or later is installed

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

Fix this in Pidgin Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2013-6486 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