CVE-2003-0978
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 gpgkeys_hkp (experimental HKP interface) for the GnuPG (gpg) client 1.2.3 and earlier, and 1.3.3 and earlier, allows remote attackers or a malicious keyserver to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code during key retrieval.
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 gpgkeys_hkp, the experimental HKP (HTTP Keyserver Protocol) interface for GnuPG versions 1.2.3 and earlier, and 1.3.3 and earlier. The vulnerability allows remote attackers or malicious key servers to cause denial of service (crash) or potentially execute arbitrary code during key retrieval operations.
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= 1.2= 1.2.1= 1.2.2= 1.2.3= 1.3.3CVSS 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.
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Identify GnuPG versionRun 'gpg --version' or 'gpg --version 2>&1' to display the installed GnuPG version numberAffected if The version displayed is 1.2.0 through 1.2.3, or 1.3.0 through 1.3.3 (exact versions include 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3.3)
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Locate gpgkeys_hkp binarySearch for the gpgkeys_hkp executable on the system (commonly found in GnuPG bin or lib directory, or listed via 'gpgkeys_hkp --version' if in PATH)Affected if The gpgkeys_hkp binary exists on the system - this is the vulnerable component
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Check HKP keyserver configurationReview GnuPG configuration files (such as ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf or /etc/gnupg/gpg.conf) for keyserver directives pointing to HKP servers, or run 'gpg --keyserver hkp://example.com --search-keys' to test HKP connectivityAffected if An HKP keyserver is configured or actively used for key retrieval operations
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Confirm vulnerability scopeCross-reference the installed version against the affected ranges: versions 1.2.x where x is 0-3, and versions 1.3.x where x is 0-3 (specifically 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3.3)Affected if The installed GnuPG version exactly matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE and the gpgkeys_hkp component is present and operational
If GnuPG version is 1.2.3 or earlier in the 1.2.x branch, or 1.3.3 or earlier in the 1.3.x branch, AND the gpgkeys_hkp HKP keyserver interface is present and enabled, the environment is affected by this format string vulnerability.
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 GnuPG to version 1.2.4 or later (1.2.x branch) or 1.3.4 or later (1.3.x branch) to obtain the patched gpgkeys_hkp component, or disable the experimental HKP keyserver interface if upgrade is not immediately feasible.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0978 — 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-2003-0978 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
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- 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
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