CVE Feed

    Dashboard / CVE / CVE-2010-10015

    CVE-2010-10015

    AOL versions up to and including 9.5 includes an ActiveX control (Phobos.dll) that exposes a method called Import() via the Phobos.Playlist COM object. This method is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow when provided with an excessively long string argument. Exploitation allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the user, but only when the malicious HTML file is opened locally, due to the control not being marked safe for scripting or initialization. AOL remains an active and supported brand offering services like AOL Mail and AOL Desktop Gold, but the legacy AOL 9.5 desktop software—specifically the version containing the vulnerable Phobos.dll ActiveX control—is long discontinued and no longer maintained.

    Published:Aug 21, 2025
    Last Modified:Apr 15, 2026
    EPS:Aug 21, 2025
    EPSS Score:0.19962
    CVSS Score:8.4

    Affected Products

    Vendor
    Aol
    Product
    Aim
    Vendor
    Aol
    Product
    Aol

    Exploits

    No exploit reference

    Common Weakness Enumeration

    CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow

    Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

    No CAPEC recorded yet

    References

    http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11190
    https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=20354
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/aol_phobos_bof.rb
    https://web.archive.org/web/20100804162117/http://www.rec-sec.com/2010/01/25/aol-playlist-class-buffer-overflow/
    https://www.broadcom.com/support/security-center/attacksignatures/detail?asid=26569
    https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11204
    https://www.fortiguard.com/encyclopedia/ips/32026/aol-phobos-dll-activex-control-import-buffer-overflow
    https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/aol-phobos-playlist-import-stack-based-buffer-overflow
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/aol_phobos_bof.rb
    https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11190
    https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11204

    Common Vulnerability Scoring System

    Attack Vector
    Network
    Adjacent
    Local
    Physical
    Privileges Required
    None
    Low
    High
    User Interaction
    None
    Required
    Scope
    Unchanged
    Changed
    Confidentiality
    None
    Low
    High
    Integrity
    None
    Low
    High
    Availability
    None
    Low
    High