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Ultimate Bulletin BoardApplication · Infopop

CVE-2000-0141

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2000-02-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Infopop Ultimate Bulletin Board (UBB) allows remote attackers to execute commands via shell metacharacters in the topic hidden field.

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 confidence

Infopop Ultimate Bulletin Board (UBB) versions prior to patch contained a command injection vulnerability where the 'topic' hidden form field failed to sanitize shell metacharacters, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the web server.

MitigationImplement strict input validation and sanitization on all form fields, specifically rejecting or escaping shell metacharacters in user-supplied input before passing to system calls. Consider upgrading to a current, supported bulletin board application if UBB is no longer maintained.

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 data
Ultimate Bulletin BoardApplication
Affected:= 5.43

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm UBB installation
    Look for UBB directories or files on the web server, typically under the web root (e.g., /cgi-bin/ubb/ or similar paths containing 'ubb' or 'ultimate bulletin board' in the filename). Check web server configuration for UBB CGI scripts.
    Affected if UBB files or directories are present on the server.
  2. Identify UBB version
    View the UBB CGI script source code (commonly ubb.cgi or ubb_lib.cgi) and look for a version variable or banner string (often contains '5.43' or similar). Alternatively, access the forum and check the footer or about page for version information.
    Affected if The installed version is 5.43.
  3. Verify topic submission feature is enabled
    Check UBB configuration files (typically config.pl or variables.pl) for settings controlling the 'topic' hidden form field in new post forms. Ensure the new topic or reply functionality that uses this field is accessible to users.
    Affected if The topic form field is active and accessible to remote users without additional authentication barriers.
  4. Inspect input handling for shell metacharacters
    Examine UBB CGI scripts (ubb.cgi, post.cgi, or similar) for how the 'topic' parameter is processed. Look for lack of sanitization routines that filter characters like ; | & $ ` or other shell metacharacters before system calls.
    Affected if The code passes the topic parameter to system calls without filtering shell metacharacters.

If Infopop UBB version 5.43 is installed and the topic submission feature is exposed, the system is affected by this command injection vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation and sanitization on all form fields, specifically rejecting or escaping shell metacharacters in user-supplied input before passing to system calls. Consider upgrading to a current, supported bulletin board application if UBB is no longer maintained.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable Ultimate Bulletin Board release (version 6.x or later, check with vendor for current supported version)

  1. 1. Check current Ultimate Bulletin Board version by examining the software installation or login admin panel
  2. 2. Obtain the latest stable version of Ultimate Bulletin Board from the official vendor (Infopop) or authorized distributor
  3. 3. Before upgrading, perform a complete backup of the database, uploaded files, and configuration files
  4. 4. Review the upgrade documentation for version-specific migration instructions
  5. 5. Deploy the new version in a staging environment first to verify compatibility with existing customizations
  6. 6. Apply the upgrade to the production environment following vendor migration procedures
  7. 7. Verify that the topic hidden field input is now properly sanitized and does not allow shell metacharacters
Caveat Custom templates or hacks from version 5.43 may need revision for compatibility with newer major versions; review all custom modifications and third-party plugins

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ultimate Bulletin Board Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2000-0141 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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