Description
Buffer overflow in the Unescape function in common/util/hxurl.cpp and player/hxclientkit/src/CHXClientSink.cpp in Helix Player 1.0.6 and RealPlayer allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a URL argument containing a % (percent) character that is not followed by two hex digits.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 4 | HelixPlayer | 1:1.0.6-1.el4_8.1 | RHSA-2010:0094 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Exploit-DB 1
- Helix Player 11.0.2 - Encoded URI Processing Buffer Overflow EDB-33620 · remote · Jul 3, 2007 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2010:0094 Red Hat Security Advisory: HelixPlayer security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
References
- RHSA-2010:0094 vendor-advisory
- https://helixcommunity.org/viewcvs/common/util/hxurl.cpp?view=log#rev1.24.4.1.4.1
- [common-cvs] 20070703 util hxurl.cpp,1.24.4.1,1.24.4.1.4.1 mailing-list
- 38450 third-party-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=561856
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:10847 vdb-entry signature