6210 HandsetHardware / appliance · Nokia

CVE-2003-0103

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2003-03-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Format string vulnerability in Nokia 6210 handset allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash, lockup, or restart) via a Multi-Part vCard with fields containing a large number of format string specifiers.

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 confidence

A format string vulnerability exists in the Nokia 6210 handset's vCard parser. When processing Multi-Part vCard attachments containing fields with a large number of format string specifiers (such as %s, %x, %n), the handset improperly handles the format string arguments, causing a denial of service via crash, lockup, or restart.

MitigationAvoid opening vCard attachments from untrusted or unknown sources. Since this is a legacy device (2003-era) with likely no vendor support, consider replacing the device if it remains in production use.

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
6210 HandsetHardware / appliance
Affected:= 5.27

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 Nokia 6210 handsets in environment
    Inventory all mobile devices or hardware assets and filter for Nokia 6210 models. Check device inventory records, MDM (Mobile Device Management) systems, or physically inspect handsets.
    Affected if Nokia 6210 handsets are present in the environment
  2. Check firmware version on Nokia 6210
    On the device, navigate to Menu > Settings > Phone > Device details (or similar path depending on firmware) to view the software version. Alternatively, connect the device to a computer with Nokia PC Suite or compatible software and check the firmware version listed.
    Affected if Firmware version is 5.27
  3. Verify vCard processing capability
    Confirm the Nokia 6210 has the ability to receive and process vCard attachments, typically via Bluetooth, infrared, or MMS. This is a default feature but can be verified in the phone's messaging or contacts settings.
    Affected if The device supports receiving and parsing vCard attachments

You are affected if you have Nokia 6210 handsets running firmware version 5.27 that can receive and parse vCard attachments, as the vulnerability is triggered when opening a specially crafted Multi-Part vCard with excessive format string specifiers.

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

Avoid opening vCard attachments from untrusted or unknown sources. Since this is a legacy device (2003-era) with likely no vendor support, consider replacing the device if it remains in production use.

Fix this in 6210 Handset Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2003-0103 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
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