CVE-2002-1177
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 · uneditedMultiple buffer overflows in Winamp 3.0, when displaying an MP3 in the Media Library window, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an MP3 file containing a long (1) Artist or (2) Album ID3v2 tag.
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 vulnerability in Winamp 3.0's Media Library component when parsing ID3v2 tags (Artist or Album fields) in MP3 files. When a specially crafted MP3 with an excessively long ID3v2 tag is displayed in the Media Library, it triggers a stack-based buffer overflow allowing remote code execution.
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= 3.0CVSS 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.
-
Verify Winamp version is 3.0Open Winamp, click Help > About Winamp or check the executable properties of winamp.exe. Compare the displayed version number to the affected version = 3.0Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.0 (no patches applied)
-
Confirm Media Library feature is activeLaunch Winamp and verify the Media Library window can be opened (press Alt+M or click View > Media Library). Check if Media Library is enabled in Preferences under Plugins > Media LibraryAffected if Media Library is enabled and can be used to browse and display MP3 files
-
Identify MP3 files with ID3v2 tagsUse a hex editor or ID3 tag viewer tool to inspect MP3 files in your media library folders. Look for the 'ID3' header (bytes 0-2) followed by version bytes (typically '3' for ID3v2.3 or '4' for ID3v2.4) in the first few bytes of the fileAffected if MP3 files containing ID3v2 tags (especially in Artist or Album fields) are present in the library
-
Trigger Media Library display of affected filesOpen the Media Library and navigate to a playlist or folder containing MP3 files with ID3v2 tags. Observe if the Artist or Album fields are rendered in the Media Library viewAffected if The Media Library attempts to parse and display ID3v2 tag fields from MP3 files
You are affected if Winamp version is exactly 3.0 AND you use the Media Library to display MP3 files containing ID3v2 tags with potentially long Artist or Album fields.
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 Winamp to a patched version (post-3.0) that properly bounds-checks ID3v2 tag parsing. Avoid opening untrusted MP3 files in the Media Library window until patched.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-1177 — 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-2002-1177 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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