CVE-2008-1120
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 the embedded Internet Explorer component for Mirabilis ICQ 6 build 6043 allows remote servers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (crash) via unspecified vectors related to HTML code generation.
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 embedded Internet Explorer component of Mirabilis ICQ 6 build 6043 allows remote servers to inject arbitrary format specifiers into HTML code generation, potentially leading to stack corruption and arbitrary code execution, or denial of service via crash.
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= 6CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify ICQ 6 is installedCheck for ICQ installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\ICQ6 or C:\Program Files\Mirabilis\ICQ) or look in Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for ICQ entriesAffected if ICQ version 6.x is present on the system
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Confirm exact ICQ versionRight-click the ICQ executable (icq.exe) in the installation folder, select Properties, and check the File Version field; alternatively, open ICQ and go to Help > About to view the build numberAffected if Version displays as 6.x with build 6043 or any 6.x release
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Verify embedded Internet Explorer component is activeICQ 6 uses an embedded IE rendering engine for HTML messages, banner ads, and web content within the client; check if ICQ can display HTML content in message windows or if the internal browser is functionalAffected if The embedded browser component is enabled and functional (default state in ICQ 6)
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Assess network exposureICQ connects to ICQ servers for messaging; check if the client has active network connections to ICQ servers or if firewall rules permit ICQ trafficAffected if Network connectivity to ICQ servers is allowed and the client can receive HTML content from remote servers
A user is affected if ICQ version 6 is installed with the embedded browser component enabled and the system has network access to ICQ servers, allowing remote format string injection into HTML rendering.
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 dataSince ICQ 6 is a discontinued legacy product with no official patch likely available, migrate to a supported ICQ client version or alternative messaging platform; as an interim control, restrict network connectivity to trusted servers and disable embedded browser components if possible.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-1120 — 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-2008-1120 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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