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Fencer Intel
high 8.4

CVE-2011-10027 json

AOL Desktop 9.6 RTX Stack-Based Buffer Overflow

published 2025-08-20 14 mo ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2011-5259

cvss
8.4
version 4.0, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.6%
EPSS 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 48%
public exploits
1
Metasploit

Summary

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.

Timeline

  1. First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/windows/fileformat/aol_desktop_linktag)
  2. Published

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Proof of concept is public
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
14 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.58% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 48% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

  • Metasploit exploit/windows/fileformat/aol_desktop_linktag AOL Desktop 9.6 RTX Buffer Overflow metasploit exploit, normal rank, 2011-01-31
  • raw.githubusercontent.com https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/aol_desktop_linktag.rb referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • exploit-db.com https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16085 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • exploit-db.com https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16107 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • exploit-db.com https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/17150 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 4.0 8.4 CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA 4.0 8.4 CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Affected products

  • AOL Inc. AOL Desktop

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.