CVE-2001-0945
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 overflow in Outlook Express 5.0 through 5.02 for Macintosh allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via an e-mail message that contains a long line.
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 vulnerability in Outlook Express 5.0-5.02 for Macintosh allows remote attackers to crash the application via an email message containing an excessively long line, causing denial of service.
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= 5.0= 5.0.1= 5.0.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Verify Outlook Express for Mac is installedSearch the system for the Outlook Express application. On classic Mac OS, check the System Folder or Applications folder for 'Outlook Express'. On newer systems, check /Applications or the installation directory.Affected if The application is not found on the system, then the CVE does not apply.
-
Identify the installed versionLocate the Outlook Express application and access its version information. This is typically available through the application's 'Get Info' window (File menu > Get Info) or by right-clicking the application and selecting 'Get Info'. Look for the version number in the information panel.Affected if The version displayed is 5.0, 5.0.1, or 5.0.2, indicating the affected versions.
-
Confirm the version matches affected releasesCompare the identified version number against the known affected versions: 5.0, 5.0.1, and 5.0.2. Ensure an exact match with one of these three specific versions.Affected if The version is exactly 5.0, 5.0.1, or 5.0.2, meaning the vulnerability is present in this installation.
-
Verify the application is configured for email handlingCheck if Outlook Express is set as the default email client or has email accounts configured. Examine the application preferences or account settings to confirm it handles email messages.Affected if The application is not used for email or has no configured accounts, the exploit vector is not present even in affected versions.
The system is affected only if Outlook Express for Macintosh version 5.0, 5.0.1, or 5.0.2 is installed and configured to handle email messages.
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 dataSince Outlook Express for Macintosh is discontinued and no longer supported, the primary remediation is to migrate to a supported email client. Users should avoid opening emails from untrusted sources as a temporary workaround.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2001-0945 — 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-2001-0945 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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