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AtermApplication

CVE-2003-0024

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2003-03-03
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
The menuBar feature in aterm 0.42 allows attackers to modify menu options and execute arbitrary commands via a certain character escape sequence that inserts the commands into the menu.

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

The menuBar feature in aterm 0.42 terminal emulator does not properly sanitize input when processing certain character escape sequences. An attacker can inject arbitrary commands into the menuBar by embedding them in these escape sequences, allowing modification of menu options and execution of arbitrary commands on the affected system.

MitigationUpgrade from aterm 0.42 to a patched version of aterm (post-0.42) that handles escape sequence validation in the menuBar, or migrate to an alternative terminal emulator that does not contain this vulnerability.

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
AtermApplication
Affected:= 0.42

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. Check if aterm is installed
    Run 'aterm --version' or check for aterm binary at /usr/bin/aterm or /usr/local/bin/aterm
    Affected if aterm is not installed or not found in standard locations
  2. Identify the installed aterm version
    Execute 'aterm --version' and examine the output for the version number
    Affected if The version reported is exactly 0.42
  3. Verify menuBar configuration
    Check for menuBar settings in aterm configuration files such as ~/.Xdefaults, ~/.Xresources, or ~/.atermrc, or look for menuBar-related command-line options in running instances
    Affected if menuBar is enabled or configured in user configuration files or startup options
  4. Confirm specific version match
    Cross-reference the version output from step 2 with the affected version range (0.42 exactly)
    Affected if The installed version is precisely 0.42 and the menuBar feature is in use

You are affected if aterm version 0.42 is installed AND the menuBar feature is enabled or can be triggered via escape sequences in your environment.

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

Upgrade from aterm 0.42 to a patched version of aterm (post-0.42) that handles escape sequence validation in the menuBar, or migrate to an alternative terminal emulator that does not contain this vulnerability.

Fix this in Aterm Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2003-0024 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