CVE-2003-0235
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 · uneditedFormat string vulnerability in POP3 client for Mirabilis ICQ Pro 2003a allows remote malicious servers to execute arbitrary code via format strings in the response to a UIDL command.
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 confidenceFormat string vulnerability in the POP3 client of Mirabilis ICQ Pro 2003a allows a remote malicious POP3 server to execute arbitrary code by sending format string specifiers (e.g., %s, %x) in the UIDL command response, which the client processes unsafely without sanitization.
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= 99a_2.15build1701= 99a_2.21build1800= 2000.0a= 2000.0b_build3278= 2001a= 2001b_build3636= 2001b_build3638= 2001b_build3659= 2002a_build3722= 2002a_build3727= 2003a_build3777= 2003a_build3799CVSS 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.
-
Identify installed ICQ versionCheck the ICQ application version: right-click the ICQ executable (typically in Program Files\ICQ or similar), select Properties, and view the Version tab. Or within ICQ, go to Help > About to see the exact build number.Affected if The version matches any of: 99a_2.15build1701, 99a_2.21build1800, 2000.0a, 2000.0b_build3278, 2001a, 2001b_build3636, 2001b_build3638, 2001b_build3659, 2002a_build3722, 2002a_build3727, 2003a_build3777, or 2003a_build3799
-
Confirm POP3 email feature is configuredIn ICQ, check if email settings are configured: look for email-related options, POP3 account settings, or any 'Check Email' feature that connects to a POP3 server.Affected if POP3 email checking is enabled and an email account is configured within the ICQ client
-
Verify UIDL command handlingThis requires examining network traffic or logs when the ICQ client connects to a POP3 server. Monitor the POP3 session for the UIDL command response.Affected if The client processes UIDL responses from remote POP3 servers without format string sanitization (vulnerable behavior)
You are affected if you have any of the listed ICQ versions installed AND have the POP3 email checking feature enabled, as the format string vulnerability in the UIDL response handling can be triggered by a malicious POP3 server.
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 dataAvoid connecting to untrusted POP3 servers; discontinue use of this legacy 2003 software if no patch is available; otherwise apply any vendor security updates.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0235 — 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-2003-0235 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