CVE-2002-2431
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in GoAhead WebServer before 2.1.4 allows remote attackers to cause "incorrect behavior" via unknown "malicious code," related to incorrect use of the socketInputBuffered function by sockGen.c.
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 confidenceGoAhead WebServer versions before 2.1.4 contain a vulnerability in the socketInputBuffered function used in sockGen.c, allowing remote attackers to cause unspecified incorrect behavior via malicious code. The vulnerability stems from incorrect usage of the socket buffering function.
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<= 2.1.3= 2.0= 2.1= 2.1.1= 2.1.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify GoAhead WebServer installationLocate the GoAhead WebServer binary or executable, then query its version using --version flag, -v flag, or check the binary metadata. Common locations: /usr/sbin/goahead, /usr/local/goahead, or check running processes.Affected if The installed version is 2.1.3 or earlier, or versions 2.0, 2.1, 2.1.1, or 2.1.2
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Verify sockGen.c source file versionIf source code is available, locate sockGen.c and check its version comment or last modification date. Look for the socketInputBuffered function definition and review its implementation for the buffering misuse pattern.Affected if The sockGen.c file contains the vulnerable socketInputBuffered implementation from versions before 2.1.4
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Inspect server configuration for active featuresReview the GoAhead WebServer configuration file (goahead.conf or similar) for enabled features, particularly socket or network-related settings. Check if CGI, ASP, or other features that exercise the socket handling code are enabled.Affected if Features that trigger the socketInputBuffered function (such as CGI, file uploads, or persistent connections) are enabled and the server version is affected
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Check server binary compilation dateIf the binary version cannot be directly queried, examine the file modification timestamp or compile date embedded in the binary using strings or file utilities.Affected if The binary was compiled prior to the 2.1.4 release date
A user is affected if the installed GoAhead WebServer version is 2.1.3 or earlier (including specific versions 2.0, 2.1, 2.1.1, or 2.1.2) and the server is actively running with features that utilize the socketInputBuffered function in sockGen.c.
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 dataUpgrade to GoAhead WebServer version 2.1.4 or later to resolve the socketInputBuffered function misuse in sockGen.c. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, consider restricting network access to the web server as a compensating control.
- 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-2002-2431 — 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-2002-2431 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
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