CVE-2001-0358
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 · uneditedBuffer overflows in Sierra Half-Life build 1573 and earlier allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) a long map command, (2) a long exec command, or (3) long input in a configuration file.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerabilities in Sierra Half-Life game server build 1573 and earlier allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending specially crafted long commands (map, exec) or long input in configuration files. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking on user-supplied input.
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<= 1573<= 1573CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if a Half-Life game server is runningCheck for listening processes on common Half-Life server ports (27015, 27016, 27005 UDP/TCP) or query the server using a game server query toolAffected if A Half-Life server process is listening on network ports accessible to remote attackers
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Determine the server build versionConnect to the server and query its info using the A2S_GOLDSOURCE_INFO protocol (UDP port 27015) or check server logs and binary metadata for the build numberAffected if The server reports build number 1573 or earlier, or the build cannot be determined but is known to be a legacy Sierra or early Valve release
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Verify remote command execution is exposedAttempt to send a malformed or excessively long 'map' or 'exec' command to the server using a raw UDP packet to port 27015, or inspect if rcon (remote console) is accessible without strong authenticationAffected if The server accepts and processes map/exec commands from remote clients without proper bounds validation
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Check configuration file handlingInspect server configuration files (server.cfg, listip.cfg, banned.cfg) for excessive length or verify if the server reads config files from user-controlled pathsAffected if Config files can be written by remote users or the server parses externally-supplied configuration data without length limits
A user is affected if they are running a Half-Life server build 1573 or earlier that is exposed to remote network connections and accepts map/exec commands or configuration input without proper bounds checking.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of the Half-Life server or migrate to the current Valve/Steam-hosted Half-Life server infrastructure, as Sierra Half-Life is a legacy product from 2001.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2001-0358 — 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-2001-0358 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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- 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
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