Vulnerability report

Trusted Third Party Report Confirmed Confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2010-2568

Windows

Microsoft / Windows

Watch CVE-2010-2568 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 7.8 · High
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Trusted Third Party Report
EPSS
89.6%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2010-2568 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Microsoft Windows.

Have exploitation attempts been observed?

Yes. Exploitation attempts have been reported for this vulnerability. Previdian lists it as a known exploited vulnerability. Listed in CISA KEV. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Microsoft / Windows.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

Windows

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.

View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
22 Jul 2010
Exploitation Attempts Reported
15 Sep 2022
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required

Tags

metasploit windows cisa metasploit_scanner

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Evidence of exploitation attempts

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploitation Attempts Observed in the Wild

CISA

Recorded 15 Sep 2022

A trusted third party reported exploitation attempts.

Proof of concept available

Recorded 28 Apr 2025

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2022-09-15 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/browser/ms10_046_shortcut_icon_dllloader.rb 29 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

7.8 High

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

89.6%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 7.8 High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 9.3 High

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

ms10_046_shortcut_icon_dllloader

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2010-2568

ms10_046_shortcut_icon_dllloader

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2010-2568

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation attempts

  1. 10:59 UTC

    Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  2. 15:02 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  3. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  4. 10:00 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  5. 00:00 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

Start 14-day Pro trial Read API docs
  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2010-2568

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2010-2568",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 7.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.89623,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}