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KopeteApplication · Kde

CVE-2003-0256

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2003-05-27
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 GnuPG plugin in kopete before 0.6.2 does not properly cleanse the command line when executing gpg, which allows remote attackers 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 GnuPG plugin in Kopete versions before 0.6.2 contains a command injection vulnerability due to improper sanitization of command-line arguments when invoking the GnuPG binary. This allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the system by injecting shell metacharacters through unsanitized input processed by the plugin.

MitigationUpgrade Kopete to version 0.6.2 or later, which includes proper command-line sanitization for GnuPG execution.

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
KopeteApplication
Affected:= 0.6.1

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. Verify if Kopete is installed
    Check for the presence of the Kopete executable. On Linux systems, run 'which kopete' or check package management (e.g., 'dpkg -l | grep kopete' or 'rpm -qa | grep kopete'). On Windows, check Program Files for a Kopete directory.
    Affected if Kopete is found on the system
  2. Determine the installed Kopete version
    Run 'kopete --version' or 'kopete -v' from the command line. Alternatively, check the package metadata via your package manager (e.g., 'dpkg -s kopete' or 'rpm -qi kopete'). Compare the version to the affected range: 0.6.1
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 0.6.1
  3. Check if the GnuPG plugin is enabled
    Launch Kopete and navigate to Settings > Configure Plugins, or inspect the Kopete configuration directory (typically ~/.kde/share/config/kopeterc or ~/.kde4/share/config/kopeterc) for plugin entries related to gpg or crypto.
    Affected if The GnuPG/Crypto plugin is loaded or configured in Kopete settings

A system is affected if it runs Kopete version 0.6.1 with the GnuPG plugin enabled, allowing unsanitized input to be passed to the GnuPG binary.

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 Kopete to version 0.6.2 or later, which includes proper command-line sanitization for GnuPG execution.

Fix this in Kopete Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2003-0256 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