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NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

CVE-2003-0161: The prescan() function in the address parser (parseaddr.c) in Sendmail before 8.12.9 does not properly handle certain conversions from char…

CriticalCVSS 10.0 · v2.0—Proof of concept Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 52/100)

  • Public proof-of-concept code exists (Exploit-DB); there is no record of exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 38.7% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 98.6% of all records.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: sendmail (Debian:12) 8.12.9-1; sendmail (Debian:3.0) 8.12.3-6.3; sendmail-wide (Debian:3.0) 8.12.3+3.5Wbeta-5.4.

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Upgrade to sendmail (Debian:12) 8.12.9-1; sendmail (Debian:3.0) 8.12.3-6.3; sendmail-wide (Debian:3.0) 8.12.3+3.5Wbeta-5.4 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

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.

Published
Apr 2, 2003
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
38.7% · 98th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

52

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
40 / 40 · 10.0 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
12 / 30 · 38.7%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • Proof of concept exists, no weaponized module
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2003-0161

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
sendmailsendmail
sendmailsendmail switch
compaqtru64
hphp-ux
hphp-ux series 700
hphp-ux series 800
hpsis
sunsolaris
sunsunos

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • compaq tru644.0b
  • compaq tru644.0d
  • compaq tru644.0d_pk9_bl17
  • compaq tru644.0f
  • compaq tru644.0f_pk6_bl17
  • compaq tru644.0f_pk7_bl18
  • compaq tru644.0g
  • compaq tru644.0g_pk3_bl17
+12 more rows
  • compaq tru645.0
  • compaq tru645.0_pk4_bl17
  • compaq tru645.0_pk4_bl18
  • compaq tru645.0a
  • compaq tru645.0a_pk3_bl17
  • compaq tru645.0f
  • compaq tru645.1
  • compaq tru645.1_pk3_bl17
  • compaq tru645.1_pk4_bl18
  • compaq tru645.1_pk5_bl19
  • compaq tru645.1_pk6_bl20
  • compaq tru645.1a

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12sendmailbefore 8.12.9-18.12.9-1
Debian:3.0sendmailbefore 8.12.3-6.38.12.3-6.3
Debian:3.0sendmail-widebefore 8.12.3+3.5Wbeta-5.48.12.3+3.5Wbeta-5.4

Same product

sendmail: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2002-1337Buffer overflow in Sendmail 5.79 to 8.12.7 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via certain formatted address fields, related…
    62This week
  • CVE-2006-0058Signal handler race condition in Sendmail 8.13.x before 8.13.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by triggering timeouts in…
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2009-4565sendmail before 8.14.4 does not properly handle a '\0' character in a Common Name (CN) field of an X.509 certificate, which (1) allows…
    31Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2002-2261Dec 31, 2002 · Sendmail 8.9.0 through 8.12.6 allows remote attackers to bypass relaying restrictions enforced by the 'check_relay' function by spoofing a…
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2002-2423Dec 31, 2002 · Sendmail 8.12.0 through 8.12.6 truncates log messages longer than 100 characters, which allows remote attackers to prevent the IP address…
    25Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2003-0308May 15, 2003 · The Sendmail 8.12.3 package in Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 does not securely create temporary files, which could allow local users to gain…
    28Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:sendmail8.12.9-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
debian:sendmail-wide8.12.3+3.5Wbeta-5.4 · Debian:3.0Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

  • Exploit-DB entry ×2

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Exploit-DB entryremote2003-04-30
Exploit-DB entrylocal2003-03-29

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. First PoC-4 d
  2. Published
  3. TodayNov 14, 2026+8627 d

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
C · data can be read
Integrity
C · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
C · the service can be disrupted
Attack complexity
Low
Confidentiality impact
C
Integrity impact
C
Availability impact
C

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

References

Show all references (19 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records