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W3mApplication

CVE-2006-6772

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-12-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 the inputAnswer function in file.c in w3m before 0.5.2, when run with the dump or backend option, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in the Common Name (CN) field of an SSL certificate associated with an https URL.

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

A format string vulnerability exists in the inputAnswer function in file.c of w3m browser versions before 0.5.2. When w3m runs in dump or backend mode and processes an HTTPS URL with a malicious SSL certificate containing format string specifiers (like %s, %x) in the Common Name (CN) field, it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by overwriting memory via the format string bug.

MitigationUpgrade w3m to version 0.5.2 or later. As a workaround, avoid using w3m with untrusted SSL certificates in dump or backend mode, or validate and sanitize SSL certificate CN fields before processing.

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
W3mApplication
Affected:= 0.5.1

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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. Check installed w3m version
    Run 'w3m -version' to display the version information
    Affected if Version displayed is 0.5.1 (exact match)
  2. Verify version number accuracy
    Compare your installed version against the affected version 0.5.1
    Affected if Installed version equals 0.5.1
  3. Identify if w3m runs in dump or backend mode
    Examine how w3m is invoked: look for -dump or -backend flags in the command line or application workflow
    Affected if w3m is running in dump mode or backend mode with HTTPS URL processing

You are affected if w3m version 0.5.1 is installed AND it processes HTTPS URLs with SSL certificates while running in dump or backend mode.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade w3m to version 0.5.2 or later. As a workaround, avoid using w3m with untrusted SSL certificates in dump or backend mode, or validate and sanitize SSL certificate CN fields before processing.

Recommended fix High confidence

w3m 0.5.2 or later

  1. Check current installed version of w3m using: w3m -version
  2. Upgrade w3m to version 0.5.2 or later. On Fedora/Red Hat systems, use: yum update w3m or dnf update w3m. On Debian/Ubuntu: apt-get update && apt-get install w3m
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version: w3m -version
  4. Ensure the version is 0.5.2 or higher to confirm the vulnerability is patched

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in W3m Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2006-6772 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
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