CVE-2002-0382
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 · uneditedXChat IRC client allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a /dns command on a host whose DNS reverse lookup contains shell metacharacters.
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 confidenceXChat IRC client contains a command injection vulnerability in its /dns command. When performing a reverse DNS lookup, the client executes the returned hostname without sanitizing shell metacharacters, allowing remote attackers to inject and execute arbitrary shell commands.
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<= 1.89CVSS 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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Verify XChat is installedRun 'xchat --version' or check package manager (dpkg -l | grep xchat, rpm -qa | grep xchat)Affected if XChat version is 1.89 or lower
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Confirm the /dns command is availableLaunch XChat and type '/help dns' in any server window to verify the command existsAffected if The /dns command is present and functional
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Identify connected IRC serversReview the server list in XChat (Server List dialog) or use '/server' command to see current connectionAffected if Connected to any IRC server, especially untrusted or unknown ones
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Check for recent DNS lookups via XChatReview XChat's logs or command history for /dns command usageAffected if The /dns command was used to look up hostnames, particularly from untrusted sources
A user is affected if running XChat version 1.89 or lower and has used the /dns command while connected to an IRC server, as the vulnerability triggers when the client executes a hostname returned from a reverse DNS lookup without sanitizing shell metacharacters.
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 dataAvoid using the /dns command on untrusted or unknown hosts until a patched version of XChat is available that properly sanitizes DNS lookup results before passing them to the shell.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-0382 — 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-2002-0382 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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