CVE-2010-0536 in QuickTime
Summary
by MITRE
Apple QuickTime before 7.6.6 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted BMP image.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/04/2026
Apple QuickTime versions prior to 7.6.6 on Windows platforms contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks through maliciously crafted BMP image files. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the image parsing component of the QuickTime media framework. When the vulnerable QuickTime player attempted to process a specially crafted BMP file, the application would allocate memory incorrectly and overwrite critical memory regions, leading to unpredictable behavior including arbitrary code execution or application crashes. The flaw represents a classic buffer overflow condition that occurs during the parsing of BMP file headers and pixel data structures, where the software fails to properly validate the dimensions and data length fields before allocating memory resources. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 vulnerability category, which encompasses out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and potential privilege escalation. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires no user interaction beyond opening a malicious file, making it susceptible to drive-by download attacks and automated exploitation campaigns. Security researchers have documented this vulnerability as part of the broader ATT&CK framework under the technique of code injection and privilege escalation, where adversaries leverage memory corruption flaws to execute malicious payloads within the context of the targeted application. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially allow full system compromise, as the memory corruption could be exploited to inject and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the QuickTime process. Organizations running affected QuickTime versions face significant risk exposure, particularly in environments where users may encounter untrusted content through email attachments, web downloads, or compromised websites. The vulnerability demonstrates the inherent risks associated with multimedia processing libraries that handle untrusted input without proper bounds checking and memory protection mechanisms. Microsoft Windows systems running these vulnerable versions of QuickTime remain at risk until proper patching occurs, as the flaw exists at the core parsing logic of the application's media handling capabilities. This particular vulnerability highlights the importance of regular software updates and the necessity of maintaining secure coding practices in multimedia frameworks that process external data formats. The exploitation of this flaw requires minimal technical expertise from attackers, making it a preferred target for automated malware distribution campaigns and increasing the overall threat landscape for organizations relying on outdated QuickTime installations. Remediation efforts must include immediate deployment of Apple's security patches and implementation of network-level controls to prevent access to known malicious BMP files, while also considering the broader implications of multimedia processing vulnerabilities in enterprise security postures. Organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running vulnerable QuickTime versions and establish monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting this specific memory corruption flaw.