Java Virtual MachineApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2002-1286

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-11-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The Microsoft Java implementation, as used in Internet Explorer, allows remote attackers to steal cookies and execute script in a different security context via a URL that contains a colon in the domain portion, which is not properly parsed and loads an applet from a malicious site within the security context of the site that is being visited by the user.

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 confidence

The Microsoft Java implementation in Internet Explorer fails to properly parse URLs containing a colon in the domain portion. This allows attackers to load malicious applets within the security context of a trusted site, bypassing the same-origin policy and enabling cookie theft and script execution in a different security context.

MitigationDisable Java in Internet Explorer or migrate to a modern, updated browser that does not contain this vulnerable Java implementation. For legacy systems, consider removing or disabling the Microsoft Java runtime.

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
Java Virtual MachineApplication
Affected:= 1.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Microsoft Java VM is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel and look for 'Microsoft Java Virtual Machine' in the list of installed programs, or check for java.exe/msjava.dll files in Windows system directories
    Affected if Microsoft Java Virtual Machine is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed Java VM version
    Run 'java -version' from command line if available, or right-click on the Microsoft Java VM entry in Control Panel to view version information
    Affected if The version is 1.1.x (specifically 1.1)

Users are affected if Microsoft Java Virtual Machine version 1.1 is installed and Java execution is enabled in Internet Explorer settings

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Disable Java in Internet Explorer or migrate to a modern, updated browser that does not contain this vulnerable Java implementation. For legacy systems, consider removing or disabling the Microsoft Java runtime.

Fix this in Java Virtual Machine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-1286 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2002-1286 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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