CVE-2002-2313
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 · uneditedEudora email client 5.1.1, with "use Microsoft viewer" enabled, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs via an HTML email message containing a META refresh tag that references an embedded .mhtml file with ActiveX controls that execute a second embedded program, which is processed by Internet Explorer.
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 confidenceEudora email client 5.1.1 with the 'use Microsoft viewer' setting enabled allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs via HTML email containing a META refresh tag that references an embedded .mhtml file with ActiveX controls, which Internet Explorer processes to execute a second embedded program.
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= 5.1.1CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/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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Verify Eudora versionCheck the installed Eudora version by right-clicking the Eudora executable (eudora.exe), selecting Properties, and viewing the Version tab, or launch Eudora and look in Help > About Eudora. The version must be exactly 5.1.1 for this vulnerability to apply.Affected if The installed version is Qualcomm Eudora 5.1.1 exactly.
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Check Microsoft viewer settingOpen Eudora and navigate to Tools > Options > Viewing Mail (or Settings > Preferences > Viewing depending on the UI). Look for a checkbox or setting labeled 'Use Microsoft viewer' or 'Use Microsoft Word/Excel viewer' for HTML email.Affected if The 'Use Microsoft viewer' option is enabled in Eudora settings.
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Confirm HTML email handlingIn the same Viewing Mail settings area, verify whether Eudora is set to display HTML emails automatically rather than as plain text. ActiveX execution requires HTML rendering.Affected if Eudora is configured to render HTML email automatically without disabling active content.
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Check for Internet Explorer integrationThe vulnerability relies on Internet Explorer processing embedded ActiveX controls within .mhtml files. Verify if IE is set as the default browser or if the Microsoft viewer component is present on the system.Affected if Internet Explorer integration is active and the Microsoft viewer component processes HTML content from Eudora.
A user is affected only if running Eudora version 5.1.1 with the 'Use Microsoft viewer' setting enabled, which allows IE to execute ActiveX controls from malicious HTML emails.
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 dataDisable the 'use Microsoft viewer' option in Eudora settings, or migrate to a supported email client version that does not support ActiveX execution, and treat unsolicited HTML emails with caution.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-2313 — 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-2002-2313 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