CVE-2002-0371
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 gopher client for Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1 through 6.0, Proxy Server 2.0, or ISA Server 2000 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a gopher:// URL that redirects the user to a real or simulated gopher server that sends a long response.
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 in the gopher client component of Internet Explorer 5.1-6.0, Proxy Server 2.0, and ISA Server 2000 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted gopher:// URL that triggers a redirect to a gopher server sending an oversized response.
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= 5.0.1= 5.5= 6.0= 2000= 2.0all 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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Check Internet Explorer versionOpen IE, go to Help > About Internet Explorer, or check the version in Add/Remove Programs or via registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionAffected if Version is 5.0.1, 5.5, or 6.0
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Verify gopher protocol handler is registered in IECheck registry key HKCR\gopher\ (or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\gopher\) to see if gopher protocol handler exists and is enabledAffected if Gopher protocol handler is present and not disabled
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Check for gopher protocol support in IE settingsIn IE, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level > Miscellaneous > Launching programs and files in an IFRAME. Alternatively, check if gopher:// URLs are processed by examining IE's protocol supportAffected if Gopher protocol support is enabled in IE security settings
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Check Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 installationCheck registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Proxy or examine Program Files\Microsoft Proxy for version informationAffected if Proxy Server 2.0 is installed
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Check Microsoft ISA Server 2000 installationCheck registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ISA Server or examine Program Files\Microsoft ISA Server for version informationAffected if ISA Server 2000 is installed
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Check for University of Minnesota Gopher serverCheck if gopher-server software (typically gopherd) is running on the system, check process list or installed programs for 'gopher'Affected if University of Minnesota Gopher server software is running
User is affected if they have Internet Explorer 5.0.1/5.5/6.0 with gopher protocol enabled, or Proxy Server 2.0, or ISA Server 2000, or any version of University of Minnesota Gopher server installed, and the gopher client functionality is actively used or exposed.
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 dataApply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability, disable gopher protocol support in Internet Explorer, or upgrade to supported versions of affected Microsoft products.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-0371 — 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-2002-0371 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