CVE-2001-1542
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 · uneditedNAI WebShield SMTP 4.5 and possibly 4.5 MR1a does not filter improperly MIME encoded email attachments, which could allow remote attackers to bypass filtering and possibly execute arbitrary code in email clients that process the invalid attachments.
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 · moderate confidenceNAI WebShield SMTP 4.5 (and possibly 4.5 MR1a) fails to properly filter malformed MIME-encoded email attachments. This filter bypass vulnerability could allow remote attackers to deliver malicious attachments that may execute arbitrary code on vulnerable email clients.
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= 4.5= 4.5_mr1aCVSS 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 WebShield SMTP installation and versionCheck for the presence of Network Associates WebShield SMTP by examining the program directory (typically in C:\Program Files\NAI\WebShield SMTP or similar), checking Windows Services for 'WebShield SMTP' service, or reviewing installed programs in Add/Remove Programs. Note the exact version number displayed.Affected if The installed version is 4.5 or 4.5_mr1a exactly.
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Verify MIME attachment filtering is enabledAccess the WebShield SMTP administrative console or configuration files (typically websm.cfg or similar configuration in the WebShield installation directory). Look for MIME filter settings, content filtering rules, or attachment screening configurations.Affected if MIME-based attachment filtering is actively enabled and processing inbound email.
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Confirm SMTP gateway exposure to external mailExamine the network configuration to determine if the WebShield server accepts SMTP connections from external/untrusted networks. Check port 25 listening services and firewall rules allowing inbound SMTP from the internet.Affected if The WebShield SMTP server is directly exposed to external email traffic (receiving mail from the internet rather than only from an internal mail relay).
A user is affected if WebShield SMTP version 4.5 or 4.5_mr1a is installed with MIME filtering enabled and the server processes inbound email from external sources.
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 WebShield SMTP or implement additional content filtering at the mail server level to catch malformed MIME attachments before delivery to end users.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2001-1542 — 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-2001-1542 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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