CVE-2002-0354
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 · uneditedThe XMLHttpRequest object (XMLHTTP) in Netscape 6.1 and Mozilla 0.9.7 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files and list directories on a client system by opening a URL that redirects the browser to the file on the client, then reading the result using the responseText property.
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 confidenceThe XMLHttpRequest object (XMLHTTP) in Netscape 6.1 and Mozilla 0.9.7 contains a flaw allowing remote attackers to read arbitrary files and list directories on the client system by causing the browser to follow a redirect to local file:// URLs, then exfiltrating the content via the responseText property.
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= 0.9.7= 0.9.9= 1.0= 6.1= 6.2CVSS 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
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
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 browser versionOpen the browser and navigate to 'about:' or check Help > About to determine if the installed version is Netscape 6.1, 6.2, or Mozilla 0.9.7, 0.9.9, or 1.0Affected if The installed browser version matches any of the following: Netscape 6.1, Netscape 6.2, Mozilla 0.9.7, Mozilla 0.9.9, or Mozilla 1.0
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Verify XMLHttpRequest object is presentOpen the browser JavaScript console and enter 'if (window.XMLHttpRequest) { alert("XMLHttpRequest present"); } else { alert("XMLHttpRequest not available"); }'Affected if The XMLHttpRequest object exists in the browser (window.XMLHttpRequest is defined)
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Confirm JavaScript is enabledCheck browser settings under Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Scripts & Plugins, or attempt to run a simple JavaScript in the address bar like 'javascript:alert("JS enabled")'Affected if JavaScript is enabled in the browser settings
A user is affected if they are running Netscape 6.1, 6.2, or Mozilla 0.9.7, 0.9.9, or 1.0 with JavaScript and XMLHttpRequest enabled, allowing a malicious webpage to read local files via redirected file:// URLs.
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 newer browser versions that have addressed this vulnerability, as Netscape 6.1 and Mozilla 0.9.7 are obsolete. If legacy systems must run these browsers, consider disabling JavaScript or XMLHttpRequest functionality.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-0354 — 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-2002-0354 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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