CVE-2000-0081
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedHotmail does not properly filter JavaScript code from a user's mailbox, which allows a remote attacker to execute the code by using hexadecimal codes to specify the javascript: protocol, e.g. jAvascript.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceHotmail failed to filter or sanitize JavaScript code embedded in user mailbox content, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts by using hexadecimal HTML character encoding (e.g., A to represent 'A' in 'javascript:') to bypass basic text filters. This enabled execution of arbitrary JavaScript in the victim's browser session, potentially allowing session hijacking, cookie theft, and unauthorized actions.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if you are running Microsoft HotmailCheck your installed email server software and verify it is Microsoft Hotmail specifically. Look for any legacy Hotmail installations or derivatives in your environment.Affected if The system is Microsoft Hotmail (all versions were affected)
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Determine if mailbox content rendering is enabledCheck if the email system displays HTML content from incoming emails to users. Look for settings related to HTML email rendering, preview panes, or message display options.Affected if HTML content rendering in mailboxes is enabled and the system processes user-supplied content
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Check for HTML entity encoding filteringInspect the email content filtering pipeline to determine if hexadecimal HTML character entities (format: &#xNN;) are being filtered, neutralized, or encoded before display. Review the sanitization logic for incoming email content.Affected if The filtering system does not handle hexadecimal HTML character encoding (&#xNN; sequences) and allows them to pass through unchanged
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Verify if script tags can be injected via encoded charactersTest the email system by sending a message containing encoded characters that form JavaScript protocol handlers (e.g., encoded 'javascript:' using javascript) and observe if they execute in the recipient's browser.Affected if Hexadecimal-encoded JavaScript protocol handlers execute in the browser context rather than being neutralized
You are affected if you are running Microsoft Hotmail with HTML email rendering enabled and your content filtering does not neutralize hexadecimal HTML character encoding sequences that could embed executable JavaScript.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement proper input validation and output encoding/sanitization for all user-supplied content, including HTML entity encoding for special characters and Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution sources.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2000-0081 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2000-0081 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data