dbcve.org
IeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2003-1028

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2004-01-20
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
The download function of Internet Explorer 6 SP1 allows remote attackers to obtain the cache directory name via an HTTP response with an invalid ContentType and a .htm file, which could allow remote attackers to bypass security mechanisms that rely on random names, as demonstrated by threadid10008.

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

Internet Explorer 6 SP1 download function reveals the cache directory name when receiving an HTTP response with an invalid ContentType and a .htm file extension, allowing attackers to bypass security mechanisms that rely on randomly named directories.

MitigationUpgrade from Internet Explorer 6 SP1 to a supported browser version or use alternative modern browsers; this vulnerability is specific to obsolete software no longer supported by Microsoft.

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
IeApplication
Affected:= 6.0
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:= 5.0= 5.0.1= 5.5= 6.0

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
None
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

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 Internet Explorer version
    Open Internet Explorer, click Help > About Internet Explorer to view the version number (look for version 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.5, or 6.0)
    Affected if The installed version is 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.5, or 6.0
  2. Confirm IE is actively used for web browsing
    Check if Internet Explorer is set as the default browser or is regularly used for downloading files from the internet
    Affected if IE is the default browser or is used for downloading files
  3. Check if Service Pack 1 is applied on IE 6
    In IE 6, go to Help > About Internet Explorer - if it says 'Service Pack 1' or lower, the specific SP1 version mentioned in the CVE is present
    Affected if Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 or earlier is installed

You are affected if you are running Internet Explorer version 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.5, or 6.0 and use IE for downloading files from the web, as the vulnerability exploits the download function's handling of HTTP responses with invalid ContentType and .htm extensions.

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 from Internet Explorer 6 SP1 to a supported browser version or use alternative modern browsers; this vulnerability is specific to obsolete software no longer supported by Microsoft.

Fix this in Ie 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-2003-1028 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