Not ratedCVE-2003-0161

    Sendmail Sendmail: Buffer Overflow (CVE-2003-0161)

    Published Sources: CVE.org

    Share

    What is affected, what to do

    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.

    The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.

    Affected
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 2.6..2.6
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 2.6.1..2.6.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 2.6.2..2.6.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 3.0..3.0
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 3.0.1..3.0.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 3.0.2..3.0.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 3.0.3..3.0.3
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.9.0..8.9.0
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.9.1..8.9.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.9.2..8.9.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.9.3..8.9.3
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.10..8.10
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.10.1..8.10.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.10.2..8.10.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.11.0..8.11.0
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.11.1..8.11.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.11.2..8.11.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.11.3..8.11.3
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.11.4..8.11.4
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.11.5..8.11.5
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.11.6..8.11.6
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12..8.12
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.0..8.12.0
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.1..8.12.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.2..8.12.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.3..8.12.3
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.4..8.12.4
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.5..8.12.5
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.6..8.12.6
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.7..8.12.7
    • Sendmail Sendmail eq 8.12.8..8.12.8
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.1..2.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.1.1..2.1.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.1.2..2.1.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.1.3..2.1.3
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.1.4..2.1.4
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.1.5..2.1.5
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.2..2.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.2.1..2.2.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.2.2..2.2.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.2.3..2.2.3
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.2.4..2.2.4
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 2.2.5..2.2.5
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 3.0..3.0
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 3.0.1..3.0.1
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 3.0.2..3.0.2
    • Sendmail Sendmail Switch eq 3.0.3..3.0.3
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0b..4.0b
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0d..4.0d
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0d_pk9_bl17..4.0d_pk9_bl17
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0f..4.0f
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0f_pk6_bl17..4.0f_pk6_bl17
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0f_pk7_bl18..4.0f_pk7_bl18
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0g..4.0g
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 4.0g_pk3_bl17..4.0g_pk3_bl17
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.0..5.0
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.0_pk4_bl17..5.0_pk4_bl17
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.0_pk4_bl18..5.0_pk4_bl18
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.0a..5.0a
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.0a_pk3_bl17..5.0a_pk3_bl17
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.0f..5.0f
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1..5.1
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1_pk3_bl17..5.1_pk3_bl17
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1_pk4_bl18..5.1_pk4_bl18
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1_pk5_bl19..5.1_pk5_bl19
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1_pk6_bl20..5.1_pk6_bl20
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1a..5.1a
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1a_pk1_bl1..5.1a_pk1_bl1
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1a_pk2_bl2..5.1a_pk2_bl2
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1a_pk3_bl3..5.1a_pk3_bl3
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1b..5.1b
    • Compaq TRU64 DIGITAL UNIX 5.1 PK5 eq 5.1b_pk1_bl1..5.1b_pk1_bl1
    • HP-UX eq 10.00..10.00
    • HP-UX eq 10.01..10.01
    • HP-UX eq 10.08..10.08
    • HP-UX eq 10.09..10.09
    • HP-UX eq 10.10..10.10
    • HP-UX eq 10.16..10.16
    • HP-UX eq 10.20..10.20
    • HP-UX eq 10.24..10.24
    • HP-UX eq 10.26..10.26
    • HP-UX eq 10.30..10.30
    • HP-UX eq 10.34..10.34
    • HP-UX eq 11.00..11.00
    • HP-UX eq 11.0.4..11.0.4
    • HP-UX eq 11.11..11.11
    • HP-UX eq 11.20..11.20
    • HP-UX eq 11.22..11.22
    • HP hp-ux series 700 eq 10.20..10.20
    • HP hp-ux series 800 eq 10.20..10.20
    • Sun Solaris eq 2.4..2.4
    • Sun Solaris eq 2.5..2.5
    • Sun Solaris eq 2.5.1..2.5.1
    • Sun Solaris eq 2.6..2.6
    • Sun Solaris eq 7.0..7.0
    • Sun Solaris eq 8.0..8.0
    • Sun Solaris eq 9.0..9.0
    • Sun SunOS eq 5.4..5.4
    • Sun SunOS eq 5.5..5.5
    • Sun SunOS eq 5.5.1..5.5.1
    • Sun SunOS eq 5.7..5.7
    • Sun SunOS eq 5.8..5.8

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    —

    Priority

    No value is available for this vulnerability.

    —

    CVSS v3

    No value is available for this vulnerability.

    38.8 %

    EPSS score

    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 98.6

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Not rated
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    77.76 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    38.8 %
    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    98.6
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    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.

    Source: cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    sendmailsendmail
    • 8.11.2
    • 8.9.3
    • 8.12.2
    • 8.9.0
    • 3.0.2
    • 8.12.6
    • 8.12
    • 8.11.6
    • 8.11.1
    • 8.11.0
    • 8.9.2
    • 8.12.7
    • 8.12.1
    • 3.0
    • 8.12.5
    • 8.12.8
    • 8.10
    • 8.12.4
    • 8.12.0
    • 3.0.1
    • 8.10.1
    • 8.10.2
    • 8.9.1
    • 2.6.1
    • 8.11.4
    • 2.6.2
    • 8.11.5
    • 8.11.3
    • 8.12.3
    • 3.0.3
    • 2.6
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    sendmailsendmail_switch
    • 2.1.4
    • 2.1.3
    • 2.1.5
    • 3.0
    • 2.2.2
    • 2.1.1
    • 2.2.1
    • 3.0.3
    • 2.2.4
    • 2.1
    • 3.0.2
    • 2.2.3
    • 3.0.1
    • 2.1.2
    • 2.2.5
    • 2.2
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Otherhphp-ux10.00
    Otherhphp-ux10.01
    Otherhphp-ux10.08
    Otherhphp-ux10.09
    Otherhphp-ux10.10
    Otherhphp-ux10.16
    Otherhphp-ux10.20
    Otherhphp-ux10.24
    Otherhphp-ux10.26
    Otherhphp-ux10.30
    Otherhphp-ux10.34
    Otherhphp-ux11.00
    Otherhphp-ux11.0.4
    Otherhphp-ux11.11
    Otherhphp-ux11.20
    Otherhphp-ux11.22
    Otherhphp-ux_series_70010.20
    Otherhphp-ux_series_80010.20
    Otherhpsis—
    Othersunsolaris2.4
    Othersunsolaris2.5
    Othersunsolaris2.5.1
    Othersunsolaris2.6
    Othersunsolaris7.0

    References & sources

    • sunsolve.sun.com1001088Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUNALERT
    • sunsolve.sun.com52620Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUNALERT
    • securityfocus.com7230Vulnerability database, x_refsource_BID
    • marc.info20030330 [OpenPKG-SA-2003.027] OpenPKG Security Advisory (sendmail)Mailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
    • redhat.comRHSA-2003:120Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
    • securityfocus.com20030401 Immunix Secured OS 7+ openssl updateMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
    • debian.orgDSA-278Vendor advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
    • debian.orgDSA-290Vendor advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
    • lists.apple.commhonarc/security-announce/msg00028.htmlx_refsource_CONFIRM
    • sunsolve.sun.com52700Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUNALERT
    • cert.orgCA-2003-12Third-party advisory, x_refsource_CERT
    • securityfocus.com20030331 GLSA: sendmail (200303-27)Mailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
    • redhat.comRHSA-2003:121Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
    • distro.conectiva.com.brCLA-2003:614Vendor advisory, x_refsource_CONECTIVA
    • gentoo.orgGLSA-200303-27Vendor advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
    • lists.grok.org.uk20030329 Sendmail: -1 gone wildMailing list, x_refsource_FULLDISC
    • marc.info20030329 Sendmail: -1 gone wildMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
    • securityfocus.com20030520 [Fwd: 127 Research and Development: 127 Day!]Mailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
    • marc.info20030329 sendmail 8.12.9 availableMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
    • kb.cert.orgVU#897604Third-party advisory, x_refsource_CERT-VN
    Embed badge

    Show the severity and KEV status of this vulnerability on your site – with a link back here. The image is updated hourly.

    Badge preview for CVE-2003-0161
    <a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2003-0161"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2003-0161.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2003-0161 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>