CVE-2002-1698
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 Microsoft MSN Messenger Service 1.0 through 4.6 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a long FN (font) argument in the message header.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft MSN Messenger Service versions 1.0 through 4.6 allows remote attackers to crash the application by sending a specially crafted message with an excessively long FN (font) argument in the message header.
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= 1.0= 2.0= 2.2= 3.0= 3.6= 4.0= 4.5= 4.6CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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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Locate MSN Messenger executableSearch for msnmsgr.exe in common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\ or C:\Program Files\Microsoft MSN Messenger\, or use the system search feature to find the executable file.Affected if The executable msnmsgr.exe exists on the system.
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Identify installed versionRight-click on the msnmsgr.exe file, select Properties, and check the Version tab to obtain the File Version information.Affected if The reported version matches any of the following: 1.0, 2.0, 2.2, 3.0, 3.6, 4.0, 4.5, or 4.6.
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Verify version falls within affected rangeCompare the installed version number to the affected range 1.0 through 4.6. If the version is within this range (including endpoints), the vulnerability is present.Affected if The installed version is 1.0, 2.0, 2.2, 3.0, 3.6, 4.0, 4.5, or 4.6.
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Confirm MSN Messenger is actively used or installedCheck Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel for MSN Messenger entry, or check for MSN Messenger in the Start Menu programs list.Affected if MSN Messenger version 1.0-4.6 appears in installed programs.
A system is affected if MSN Messenger version 1.0 through 4.6 is installed or present on the system, as the buffer overflow in the FN (font) argument handling can be triggered by a specially crafted message.
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 dataMSN Messenger 1.0-4.6 is deprecated and no longer supported; migrate to a current Microsoft messaging platform (Microsoft Teams, Skype) or use an alternative supported communication client.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-1698 — 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-2002-1698 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