Cyber Risks · Cisco Talos

VRT-2013-1003 (CVE-2013-6486): Pidgin uses clickable links to untrusted executables

Summary: Sourcefire's VRT-2013-1003 describes a remote code execution flaw in Pidgin 2.10.7's handling of file:// URLs on Windows, where a URL delivered over any Pidgin-supported protocol is passed to ShellExecute() when clicked. The file_clicked_cb function strips the file:// scheme before calling file_open_uri(), so the check meant to filter those URLs never matches, and the researchers achieved code execution using .jar files after Windows blocked .exe and .bat.

Key Takeaway: The attacker also controls the displayed link text, so the real destination of a clicked URL can be hidden from the user - and the flaw needs only a click in a chat window, with Java Runtime Environment installed on the target.

Read the original at Cisco Talos ↗

Topics
Supply Chain & AppSec
Mentions
CVE-2013-6486
Related
Kitesurf is now open source Cyber Risks · Nov 13, 2026