AOL Desktop up to 9.6 rtx File Parser stack-based overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in AOL Desktop up to 9.6. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component rtx File Parser. The manipulation leads to stack-based overflow. This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2011-10027. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in AOL Desktop up to 9.6 and classified as critical. This issue affects some unknown functionality of the component rtx File Parser. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a stack-based overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-121. A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function). Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

AOL Desktop 9.6 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in its Tool\rich.rct component when parsing .rtx files. By embedding an overly long string in a hyperlink tag, an attacker can trigger a stack-based buffer overflow due to the use of unsafe strcpy operations. This allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code when a victim opens a malicious .rtx file. AOL Desktop is end-of-life and no longer supported. Users are encouraged to migrate to AOL Desktop Gold or alternative platforms.

The weakness was shared by sup3r. It is possible to read the advisory at raw.githubusercontent.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2011-10027 since 08/18/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/20/2025).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• AOL

Name

• Desktop

Version

• 9.0
• 9.1
• 9.2
• 9.3
• 9.4
• 9.5
• 9.6

License

• free

Support

• end of life

Website

• Vendor: https://www.aol.com/

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