CVE-2010-1885: The MPC::HexToNum function in helpctr.exe in Microsoft Windows Help and Support Center in Windows XP and Windows Serv…
- Is it exploited?
Reported, not confirmed by CISA. VulnCheck KEV lists it as exploited in the wild. CISA has not added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of .
VulnCheck KEV lists it since . It cites 3 public reports, the first from .
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 71.1%
EPSS score, percentile 99.4 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.
- How severe?
- Not scored
The CVE record carries no CVSS score.
- What should I do?
CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of ; VulnCheck KEV, as of ; FIRST EPSS, as of ; CVE List, as of . About the data.
Description
The MPC::HexToNum function in helpctr.exe in Microsoft Windows Help and Support Center in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 does not properly handle malformed escape sequences, which allows remote attackers to bypass the trusted documents whitelist (fromHCP option) and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted hcp:// URL, aka "Help Center URL Validation Vulnerability."
Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.
What to do
Advisories and patches
This summary is based on the CVE record as of . Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| CVE record last updated |
References
15
- VU#578319
- TA10-194A
- 40076
- 13808
- ms-win-helpctr-command-execution(59267)
- 40725
- 1024084
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:11733
- ADV-2010-1417
- 20100609 Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly
- 20100610 Re: Microsoft Windows Help Centre Handles Malformed Escape Sequences Incorrectly
4 more in the CVE record.
Known exploited Microsoft vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-96951: Microsoft Windows Command Injection Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-65660: Microsoft SharePoint Code Injection Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-81963: Microsoft Windows Link Following Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-85880: Microsoft Windows Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- CVE-2019-1068: Microsoft SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability