CVE-2002-2284
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 · uneditedNetscape Communicator 4.0 through 4.79 allows remote attackers to bypass JVM security and execute arbitrary Java code via an applet that loads user-supplied Java classes.
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 confidenceNetscape Communicator 4.0 through 4.79 contains a JVM security bypass that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code by embedding malicious applets that load user-supplied Java classes, circumventing the Java sandbox security model.
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= 4.0= 4.5= 4.6= 4.7= 4.51= 4.61= 4.72= 4.73= 4.74= 4.75= 4.76= 4.77CVSS 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
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
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 Netscape Communicator installationSearch for netscape.exe in standard installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Netscape\, C:\Program Files (x86)\Netscape\, or check Windows registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Netscape for installation pathsAffected if The Netscape Communicator executable is found on the system
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Determine the installed Netscape versionRight-click on netscape.exe, select Properties, then view the Details tab to read the File Version fieldAffected if The reported version matches any of the following: 4.0, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.51, 4.61, 4.72, 4.73, 4.74, 4.75, 4.76, or 4.77
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Check if Java plugin is enabledWithin Netscape Communicator, navigate to Edit > Preferences > Advanced and verify whether the Java plugin checkbox is selected, or inspect the Netscape plugins folder for the presence of Java-related DLL files such as npjava*.dll or JavaPlugin*.jarAffected if Java plugin is enabled or Java plugin files exist in the Netscape plugins directory
A system is affected if Netscape Communicator versions 4.0 through 4.77 is installed with Java plugin functionality enabled, allowing malicious applets to bypass the Java sandbox.
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 dataSince Netscape Communicator is discontinued and unsupported, the primary remediation is to decommission or isolate any legacy systems still running this browser and ensure Java plugin/applet execution is disabled organization-wide.
- Consultation1.0 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-2002-2284 — 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-2002-2284 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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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