CVE-2002-0372
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Windows Media Player versions 6.4 and 7.1 and Media Player for Windows XP allow remote attackers to bypass Internet Explorer's (IE) security mechanisms and run code via an executable .wma media file with a license installation requirement stored in the IE cache, aka the "Cache Path Disclosure via Windows Media Player".
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in Windows Media Player 6.4, 7.1, and XP allows remote attackers to bypass Internet Explorer security restrictions by embedding executable content within .wma media files that include a license installation requirement. When these files are cached by IE, the license installation process can be manipulated to execute arbitrary code without proper security prompts.
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 versions= 6.4= 7.1CVSS 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 Windows Media Player versionOpen Windows Media Player, go to Help > About, or check the version via file properties of wmplayer.exe in Program Files/Windows Media PlayerAffected if Version is 6.4 or 7.1 (or Windows Media Player for XP if still on original unpatched version)
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Verify Internet Explorer security zone settingsIn IE, go to Internet Options > Security > Custom Level, look for settings related to 'Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe' and 'Download signed ActiveX controls'Affected if Security zones are set to allow ActiveX controls or automatic license installation without prompts
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Confirm license installation is enabled for media filesIn IE, go to Internet Options > Security > Custom Settings for each zone, search for 'License acquisition' or 'Automatic component download' related to media contentAffected if License installation is allowed without user prompt in the affected security zone
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Check for cached .wma media filesExamine IE cache folder (typically %Temporary Internet Files% or %Local AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache) for .wma files that may contain embedded license requirementsAffected if Untrusted .wma files with license installation requirements have been cached by IE
A user is affected if they run an unpatched Windows Media Player 6.4 or 7.1 with IE security settings that permit automatic license installation for media files, and have cached or opened .wma files containing malicious license requirements.
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 the relevant Microsoft security patches from 2002 for Windows Media Player and IE, or upgrade to patched versions of Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer. Consider disabling automatic license installation for media files as a temporary workaround.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-0372 — 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-2002-0372 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data