What is CVE-2010-1885?

CVE-2010-1885 is a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, classified under OS Command Injection. Published 2010-06-15.

Is CVE-2010-1885 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

RCE in Microsoft Windows 2003 Server

CVE-2010-1885

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."

Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)

Published 2010-06-15 · last modified 2026-06-16.

CVSS v2 metric

CVSS v2 base score 9.3 (High). Vector: AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C. This CVE predates CVSS v3 and has no v3 score from NVD.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.711 (99.4th percentile), scored 2026-10-18.

High probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — patch promptly. 99th percentile — 99.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.712 · newest: 0.711 · change: -0.001

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-78 — OS Command Injection

Public proof-of-concept exploits

rapid7/metasploit-framework

References

www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/578319 (US Government Resource, third-party-advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511774/100/0/threaded (mailing-list)
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/59267 (vdb-entry)
www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/511783/100/0/threaded (mailing-list)
blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2010/06/10/help-and-support-center-vulnerabilit… (Vendor Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/40725 (Exploit, vdb-entry)
archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2010-06/0197.html (mailing-list, Exploit)
www.securitytracker.com/id (vdb-entry)
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/13808 (exploit)
blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2010/06/10/windows-help-vulnerability-disclosu…

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2010-1885?: CVE-2010-1885 is a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, classified under OS Command Injection. Published 2010-06-15.
Is CVE-2010-1885 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.