CVE-2001-0901
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 · uneditedHypermail allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on a server supporting SSI via an attachment with a .shtml extension, which is archived on the server and can then be executed by requesting the URL for the attachment.
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 confidenceHypermail allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands by attaching files with .shtml extension to archived emails. When the web server processes the archived .shtml file via a requested URL, Server-Side Include (SSI) directives are executed, enabling arbitrary command injection through SSI exec directives.
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
- 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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Verify Hypermail is installedCheck for Hypermail binaries or running processes: which hypermail, ps aux | grep hypermail, or look for hypermail in /usr/bin/, /usr/local/bin/, or the web server's cgi-bin/ directory.Affected if Hypermail binary or process exists on the system.
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Identify the archive directoryReview Hypermail configuration file (typically hypermailrc or config file used when generating archives) to locate the 'dir' or 'archivedir' setting that specifies where attachments are stored.Affected if A directory path is configured for storing archived attachments.
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Confirm archive directory is web-accessibleCheck the web server configuration (Apache httpd.conf, nginx config, etc.) for an Alias or Directory directive that serves the Hypermail archive directory via HTTP/HTTPS.Affected if The archive directory or a parent directory is configured to be served by the web server.
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Check if SSI is enabled for the archive directoryInspect the web server configuration for 'AddType text/html .shtml', 'AddOutputFilter INCLUDES .shtml', or 'Options +Includes' directives applied to the archive directory or its parent.Affected if SSI processing (AddOutputFilter INCLUDES or Options +Includes) is enabled for the web-accessible archive directory.
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Verify dangerous file extensions are not blockedReview the web server configuration for 'RemoveType' or 'RemoveHandler' directives that strip .shtml/.shtm, or check for rewrite rules blocking these extensions in the archive directory.Affected if No configuration exists to prevent .shtml or .shtm files from being processed as SSI by the web server.
The environment is affected if Hypermail is running, its archive directory is web-accessible, and SSI processing is enabled for that directory, allowing uploaded .shtml attachments to execute server-side commands.
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 dataDisable SSI processing for the attachment archive directory in the web server configuration, or modify Hypermail to strip or rename dangerous extensions (.shtml, .shtm) during archiving to prevent execution.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,168.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2001-0901 — 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-2001-0901 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