CVE-2003-0069
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 PuTTY terminal emulator 0.53 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 confidencePuTTY 0.53 improperly handles terminal escape sequences, allowing an attacker to modify the window title via a malicious sequence and subsequently recall that title back into the command line. When a user views a file containing this sequence and interacts with the terminal, arbitrary commands may be executed.
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= 0.53CVSS 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.
-
Locate PuTTY installationFind the PuTTY executable on the system - common paths include C:\Program Files\PuTTY\putty.exe on Windows or /usr/bin/putty on Unix-like systems. Use 'where putty' on Windows or 'which putty' on Linux to locate it.Affected if PuTTY executable is present on the system
-
Identify the exact PuTTY versionRun the PuTTY executable with the --version flag, or right-click the PuTTY window title bar and select 'About PuTTY' to view the version. Alternatively, right-click the executable file in Windows Explorer, select Properties, and check the Version tab.Affected if The displayed version is exactly 0.53 (no patches, subversions, or later releases)
-
Confirm only version 0.53 is affectedVerify the version string is precisely '0.53' - this vulnerability does not affect later versions like 0.53b, 0.53c, 0.54, or any subsequent releases. Only version 0.53 is listed as affected.Affected if Version is exactly 0.53 with no additional characters or subversion identifiers
The environment is affected only if PuTTY version 0.53 (exact version) is installed and a user connects to a malicious server or views a file containing the window title escape sequence that can be recalled to the command line.
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 a patched version of PuTTY that sanitizes escape sequences, and train users to avoid viewing untrusted files directly in the terminal.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0069 — 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-2003-0069 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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