CVE-2010-2568

Exp

Windows Shell in Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Server 2003 SP2, Vista SP1 and SP2, Server 2008 SP2 and R2, and Windows 7 allows local users or remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) .LNK or (2) .PIF shortcut file, which is not properly handled during icon display in Windows Explorer, as demonstrated in the wild in July 2010, and originally reported for malware that leverages CVE-2010-2772 in Siemens WinCC SCADA systems.

Published: 2010-07-22 Last update: 2026-04-22 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2010-2568 is rated Critical Active Threat (90.6/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 92.13%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-09-15) affecting Microsoft / Windows. Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2010-2568

Name: Microsoft Windows Remote Code Execution Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-09-15

Action due: 2022-10-06

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2010-2568

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
16574 exploit_db edb 2010-09-21 Exploit-DB ↗
14403 exploit_db edb 2010-07-18 Exploit-DB ↗
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— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
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Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2010-2568

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-02-18 92.59% 92.13% -0.46%
2 2026-01-19 92.79% 92.59% -0.20%
3 2025-12-28 — 92.79% —

Full EPSS history (34 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2010-2568

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2010-2568

NVD evaluator notes for CVE-2010-2568

Solution: Per: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2286198.mspx Microsoft has completed the investigation into a public report of this vulnerability. We have issued MS10-046 to address this issue. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS10-046.mspx

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2010-2568

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft windows_7 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2003 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2003:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 r2 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:*:*:*:*:*:itanium:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 r2 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
microsoft windows_vista — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_vista — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_xp — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp2:*:*:professional:*:x64:*
microsoft windows_xp — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2010-2568

URL Tags
http://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=9181 Exploit Issue Tracking
http://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=9190 Issue Tracking
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/07/experts-warn-of-new-windows-shortcut-flaw/ Press/Media Coverage
http://secunia.com/advisories/40647 Vendor Advisory
http://securitytracker.com/id?1024216 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001986.html Not Applicable
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/new_rootkit_en.pdf Exploit
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/940193 Patch Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2286198.mspx Broken Link Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/41732 Broken Link Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-222A.html Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-046 Patch Vendor Advisory
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11564 Broken Link
https://www.geoffchappell.com/notes/security/stuxnet/ctrlfldr.htm Third Party Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2010-2568 US Government Resource
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