CVE-2010-1885: Microsoft Windows 2003 Server

High severity, CVSS 9.3. EPSS: 71.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

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."

Affected products

• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server: any version
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003: any version
• Microsoft Windows XP: any version; affected versions not specified

Published 2010-06-15. Last modified 2026-06-16.