Csnews ProfessionalApplication · Cgiscript

CVE-2002-1753

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-12-31
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
csNewsPro.cgi in CGIScript.net csNews Professional (csNewsPro) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Perl code via the setup parameter, which is processed by the Perl eval function.

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

csNewsPro.cgi in CGIScript.net csNews Professional contains a code injection vulnerability where the setup parameter is passed to the Perl eval() function without sanitization, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary Perl code on the server.

MitigationRemove or properly sanitize user input to the setup parameter; replace unsafe eval() usage with safe parameter handling or direct function calls. If the application is legacy and unmaintained, consider migrating to a supported content management system.

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
Csnews ProfessionalApplication
Affected:= 1.0

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. Locate csNewsPro.cgi on the system
    Search for the file csNewsPro.cgi in web-accessible directories, typically under cgi-bin or similar web directories. Use commands like: find / -name 'csNewsPro.cgi' 2>/dev/null or check common cgi-bin paths.
    Affected if The file csNewsPro.cgi exists on the server in a web-accessible location.
  2. Determine the installed version of csNews Professional
    Check the version information in the csNewsPro.cgi file, its associated configuration files, or any version comments within the script. Look for version strings such as '1.0' in the code or in a separate version/info file.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.0.
  3. Verify the CGI script is executable and web-accessible
    Confirm that the csNewsPro.cgi file has execute permissions (chmod +x) and is accessible via HTTP through the web server. Attempt to access it via browser or curl to confirm it responds.
    Affected if The script is accessible and responds to HTTP requests.
  4. Inspect the source code for unsafe eval() usage
    Examine the csNewsPro.cgi source code and search for 'eval' statements that incorporate the 'setup' parameter without sanitization. Look for patterns like 'eval($setup)' or similar constructs.
    Affected if The code contains an eval() call that uses the 'setup' parameter without input validation.
  5. Test if the setup parameter is accepted
    Send a request to csNewsPro.cgi with a test setup parameter value (e.g., ?setup=test) and observe whether the value is processed or reflected in the response. Compare behavior with and without the parameter.
    Affected if The application accepts and processes the setup parameter from user input.

The server is affected if csNewsPro.cgi version 1.0 is installed, is web-accessible, and the source code reveals that the setup parameter is passed to an unsanitized eval() function.

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

Remove or properly sanitize user input to the setup parameter; replace unsafe eval() usage with safe parameter handling or direct function calls. If the application is legacy and unmaintained, consider migrating to a supported content management system.

Fix this in Csnews Professional Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2002-1753 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