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Instant MessengerApplication · Aol

CVE-2000-1000

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2000-12-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Format string vulnerability in AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) 4.1.2010 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary commands by transferring a file whose name includes format characters.

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

Format string vulnerability in AIM 4.1.2010 allows remote attackers to cause denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary commands via file transfer with a filename containing format specifiers (e.g., %s, %x, %n). The vulnerability stems from unsafe handling of user-supplied strings passed to printf-style functions.

MitigationThis is a legacy vulnerability in obsolete software (AOL Instant Messenger 4.1.2010). The primary remediation is to migrate to a supported, modern instant messaging platform, as AIM 4.x is no longer maintained or secure.

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
Instant MessengerApplication
Affected:= 4.1.2010

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

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

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. Verify AIM version installed
    Check installed programs or executables for AOL Instant Messenger version 4.1.2010. On Windows, check Add/Remove Programs or examine the AIM executable properties.
    Affected if AIM version 4.1.2010 is present on the system
  2. Confirm file transfer functionality
    Check if AIM file transfer feature is configured or has been used. Look for file transfer logs, settings, or recent transfer history within the AIM client.
    Affected if File transfer feature is enabled or has been used with AIM 4.1.2010
  3. Identify running AIM processes
    Check for running AIM processes in Task Manager or command line tools (tasklist /svc or ps aux) for aim.exe or related executables.
    Affected if AIM 4.1.2010 executable is currently running on the system

If AOL Instant Messenger version 4.1.2010 is installed and the file transfer feature is enabled or was used, the system is vulnerable to CVE-2000-1000.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

This is a legacy vulnerability in obsolete software (AOL Instant Messenger 4.1.2010). The primary remediation is to migrate to a supported, modern instant messaging platform, as AIM 4.x is no longer maintained or secure.

Fix this in Instant Messenger Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2000-1000 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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