Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- EPSS is 37.56% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2003
CVE-2003-0838High confidence
Affected product: security vulnerability
Unknown · Unknown
7.5HighCVSS 2.0
Within 7 days
Patch availableHigh technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Unknown Unknown and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Patch available01
What, why and how
Internet Explorer allows remote attackers to bypass zone restrictions to inject and execute arbitrary programs by creating a popup window and inserting ActiveX object code with a "data" tag pointing to the malicious code, which Internet Explorer treats as HTML or Javascript, but later executes as an HTA application, a different vulnerability than CVE-2003-0532, and as exploited using the QHosts Trojan horse (aka Trojan.Qhosts, QHosts-1, VBS.QHOSTS, or aolfix.exe).
What
Internet Explorer allows remote attackers to bypass zone restrictions to inject and execute arbitrary programs by creating a popup window and inserting ActiveX object code with a "data" tag pointing to the malicious code, which Internet Explorer treats as HTML or Javascript, but later executes as an HTA application, a different vulnerability than CVE-2003-0532, and as exploited using the QHosts Trojan horse (aka Trojan.Qhosts, QHosts-1, VBS.QHOSTS, or aolfix.exe).
Why
The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.
How
An attacker operating through the affected interface may attempt exploitation when the stated preconditions are met. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
Internet Explorer allows remote attackers to bypass zone restrictions to inject and execute arbitrary programs by creating a popup window and inserting ActiveX object code with a "data" tag pointing to the malicious code, which Internet Explorer treats as HTML or Javascript, but later executes as an HTA application, a different vulnerability than CVE-2003-0532, and as exploited using the QHosts Trojan horse (aka Trojan.Qhosts, QHosts-1, VBS.QHOSTS, or aolfix.exe).
Why
The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.
How
An attacker operating through the affected interface may attempt exploitation when the stated preconditions are met. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- the affected interface → vulnerable operation → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Unspecified
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- Not stated in the selected CVSS metric
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Not stated in the selected CVSS metric
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration. - CWE not yet assigned
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Patch available
- Affected
- n/a
- Action
- Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 7 Oct 2003 · Last source change 8 Aug 2024, 02:05 UTC · CWE not yet assigned
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-13
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2003-0829
Product sourceUnavailable
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceUnavailable
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Missing structured fields: CWE classification, affected product. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2003-0829 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.ENISA EUVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- {"euvdId":"EUVD-2003-0829"}
- Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed patch: docs.microsoft.com/ms03-040; removed remediation: docs.microsoft.com/ms03-040.CNA ↗
- Before
- patch: docs.microsoft.com/ms03-040 · remediation: docs.microsoft.com/ms03-040
- After
- no authoritative guidance recorded
- Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.CNA ↗
- Before
- n/a: n/a · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
- After
- n/a: n/a · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Patch available to Awaiting fix.CNA ↗
- Before
- Patch available
- After
- Awaiting fix
- SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to High.NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- Unknown
- After
- High
- CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 7.5 (CVSS 2.0 · NIST NVD · AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P).NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- 7.5 (CVSS 2.0 · NIST NVD · AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P)
- Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.CNA ↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.