CVE-2003-0161 EXPLOIT
10.0
HIGH · CVSS 2.0 · EPSS 38.8% (pctl 99)
Patch early
A public exploit exists.
Description
The prescan() function in the address parser (parseaddr.c) in Sendmail before 8.12.9 does not properly handle certain conversions from char and int types, which can cause a length check to be disabled when Sendmail misinterprets an input value as a special "NOCHAR" control value, allowing attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via a buffer overflow attack using messages, a different vulnerability than CVE-2002-1337.
Scoring
| CVSS | 10.0 (HIGH, v2.0) |
|---|---|
| Vector | AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
| EPSS | 38.79% — more likely to be exploited than 99% of all CVEs |
| On CISA KEV | no |
| Public exploit | yes |
| Published | 2003-04-02 |
| Last modified | 2026-06-16 |
Affected (9)
| Vendor | Product |
|---|---|
| compaq | tru64 |
| hp | hp-ux |
| hp | hp-ux series 700 |
| hp | hp-ux series 800 |
| hp | sis |
| sendmail | sendmail |
| sendmail | sendmail switch |
| sun | solaris |
| sun | sunos |
Public exploits
| Source | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|
| exploit-db | Sendmail 8.12.8 (BSD) - 'Prescan()' Remote Command Execution | 2003-04-30 |
| exploit-db | Sendmail 8.11.6 - Address Prescan Memory Corruption | 2003-03-29 |
References
- ftp://ftp.caldera.com/pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2003-016.0.txt
- ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/CERT/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-03:07.sendmail.asc
- ftp://ftp.sco.com/pub/updates/OpenServer/SCOSA-2004.11/SCOSA-2004.11.txt
- ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/advisories/20030401-01-P
- http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000614
- http://lists.apple.com/mhonarc/security-announce/msg00028.html
- http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2003-March/004295.html
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=104896621106790&w=2
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=104897487512238&w=2
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=104914999806315&w=2
- http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-52620-1
- http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-52700-1
- http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-77-1001088.1-1
- http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-12.html
- http://www.debian.org/security/2003/dsa-278
- http://www.debian.org/security/2003/dsa-290
- http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200303-27.xml
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/897604
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-120.html
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-121.html
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