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IrixOperating system · Sgi

CVE-2003-0064

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 dtterm terminal emulator allows attackers to modify the window title via a certain character escape sequence and then insert it back to the command line in the user's terminal, e.g. when the user views a file containing the malicious sequence, which could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands.

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 dtterm terminal emulator (part of CDE) contains a vulnerability where malicious escape sequences can modify the window title, and when the terminal recalls this title (e.g., through certain title-bar operations), it gets inserted back into the command line buffer. An attacker can embed this sequence in a file; when a user views it, subsequent keystrokes or command executions can result in arbitrary command injection.

MitigationUpgrade dtterm to a patched version, or migrate to a modern terminal emulator that properly sanitizes escape sequences. Users should avoid viewing untrusted content in dtterm.

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
IrixOperating system
Affected:= 5.0= 5.0.1= 5.1= 5.1.1= 5.2= 5.3= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.1= 6.2= 6.3= 6.4
Hp UxOperating system
Affected:= 10.20= 10.24= 10.26= 10.30= 10.34= 11.00= 11.04= 11.11= 11.20= 11.22
AixOperating system
Affected:= 4.3= 4.3.1= 4.3.2= 4.3.3= 5.1= 5.2
SolarisOperating system
Affected:= 2.5.1= 2.6= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0
SunosOperating system
Affected:all versions= 5.5.1= 5.7= 5.8

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. Identify if dtterm is installed
    Run 'which dtterm' or check for /usr/dt/bin/dtterm, or query the package system for CDE components (e.g., 'rpm -qa | grep -i cde' on RPM-based systems, 'pkginfo | grep -i dtterm' on Solaris)
    Affected if dtterm binary exists on the system
  2. Check the operating system version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'uname -r' to identify the OS and version. For the listed products, compare against: IRIX 5.0-6.4, HP-UX 10.20/10.24/10.26/10.30/10.34/11.00/11.04/11.11/11.20/11.22, AIX 4.3-5.2, Solaris 2.5.1/2.6/7.0/8.0/9.0, or SunOS (all versions, especially 5.5.1/5.7/5.8)
    Affected if The OS version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE
  3. Verify if CDE desktop environment is in use
    Check for CDE processes: run 'ps -ef | grep -i dt' or check environment variable $DT (e.g., 'echo $DT'), or look for /usr/dt directory structure
    Affected if CDE/dtterm processes are running or the CDE environment is configured
  4. Check dtterm binary version if available
    If dtterm exists, run 'dtterm -version' or 'file $(which dtterm)' to gather version information. On HP-UX, use 'swlist | grep -i dtterm'; on AIX, use 'lslpp -l | grep -i dtterm'; on Solaris, use 'pkginfo -l | grep -i CDE'
    Affected if The dtterm version cannot be determined or is from an older CDE package matching affected OS versions

The system is potentially affected if dtterm/CDE is installed on any of the listed OS versions (IRIX, HP-UX, AIX, Solaris, SunOS) and the attacker can cause the user to view malicious escape sequences in the terminal.

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 dtterm to a patched version, or migrate to a modern terminal emulator that properly sanitizes escape sequences. Users should avoid viewing untrusted content in dtterm.

Fix this in Irix Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2003-0064 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