CVE-2017-10820
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 Installer of IP Messenger for Win 4.60 and earlier allows an attacker to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified 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 · moderate confidenceThe installer for IP Messenger for Win 4.60 and earlier contains an untrusted search path vulnerability (DLL hijacking). An attacker can place a malicious DLL file in a directory that the installer searches when loading libraries, causing the Trojan horse DLL to be loaded with elevated privileges during installation, enabling 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<= 4.60CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Identify installed IP Messenger versionCheck the version of ipmsg.exe in the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\IPMsg or C:\Program Files (x86)\IPMsg). Right-click the file, select Properties, and view the Details tab for Product Version.Affected if Product Version displays 4.60 or earlier (e.g., 4.60, 4.5x, etc.)
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Locate original installer fileFind the original installer executable used to install IP Messenger (commonly named setup.exe, ipmsgsetup.exe, or similar). Check your Downloads folder, installation media, or documentation.Affected if Installer file exists and its version property shows 4.60 or earlier
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Check installation directory for suspicious DLLsOpen the IP Messenger installation directory and examine all .dll files present. Look for unexpected or recently added DLLs that are not part of the standard installation (common suspicious names include version.dll, dwmapi.dll, winmm.dll, comctl32.dll in unusual locations).Affected if Any DLL file exists in the installation directory that was not part of the original installer or appears unfamiliar/suspicious
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Inspect user Temp directories for unknown DLLsOpen %TEMP% or %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp and search for .dll files. DLL hijacking often places malicious files in temp directories used during installation.Affected if Unexpected DLL files are found in temp directories, particularly those matching Windows system DLL names
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Review recent directory for installer run locationCheck the directory from which the installer was last executed. Open command prompt, type 'recent' to open the Recent folder, or check jump lists. Identify where the installer was run from.Affected if The installer was run from a directory writable by untrusted users, or the directory contains unexpected DLL files
You are affected if IP Messenger version or installer version is 4.60 or earlier, AND suspicious/untrusted DLL files exist in the installation directory or the directory from which the installer was executed.
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 dataUpdate to IP Messenger for Win version 4.61 or later which contains the patched installer. As a temporary measure, ensure the installation directory does not contain any untrusted or suspicious DLL files before running the installer.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-10820 — 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-2017-10820 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
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