CVE-2002-2361
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 · uneditedThe installer in Yahoo! Messenger 4.0, 5.0 and 5.5 does not verify package signatures which could allow remote attackers to install trojan programs via DNS spoofing.
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 confidenceThe Yahoo! Messenger installer versions 4.0, 5.0, and 5.5 fails to verify cryptographic signatures on downloaded packages before execution. This allows remote attackers performing DNS spoofing to substitute legitimate installer binaries with trojaned versions, tricking users into installing malicious software.
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= 5.0= 5.5CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/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 Yahoo Messenger installationSearch for ymsgr.exe or yahoo messenger executable in common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Yahoo! or C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!, or use system search tools to find files named ymsgr.exeAffected if Yahoo Messenger executable is found on the system
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Retrieve installed version informationRight-click the ymsgr.exe file, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the File Version; alternatively, right-click the executable in Programs and Features or use command 'wmic product where "name like 'Yahoo%Messenger'" get version'Affected if Version is reported as 4.0, 5.0, or 5.5 exactly
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Check if the installer was downloadedReview browser download history or installation logs for evidence that the Yahoo Messenger installer was obtained from network sources rather than bundled mediaAffected if The installer was downloaded from network location and version matches 4.0, 5.0, or 5.5
A user is affected if Yahoo Messenger version 4.0, 5.0, or 5.5 is installed and the installer was obtained via network download rather than trusted local media.
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 dataUsers should avoid these legacy versions and upgrade to supported, patched versions of Yahoo! Messenger or use alternative messaging platforms. When downloading software, verify the download occurs over HTTPS and confirm file integrity via published checksums.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-2361 — 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-2002-2361 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