# CVE-2001-1497: Information disclosure in n/a

> Local attackers can distinguish password characters via keyboard navigation, facilitating brute-force attacks against Internet Explorer users.

- **Severity:** Low 2.1 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Jun 2005
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vq53-fvjx-3c2c

## What is CVE-2001-1497?

CVE-2001-1497 is a low-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Ie, published on 21 Jun 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 through 6.0 could allow local users to differentiate between alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters used in a password by pressing certain control keys that jump between non-alphanumeric characters, which makes it easier to conduct a brute-force password guessing attack.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2001-1497?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Microsoft Ie, Microsoft Internet Explorer.

## How do I fix CVE-2001-1497?

No fix has been published for CVE-2001-1497 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2001-1497 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2001-1497 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Ie

- [CVE-2007-0217](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-0217/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-0219](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-0219/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-1186](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-1186/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0985](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0985/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0216](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0216/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2001-1497 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2001-1497 is a low-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Ie, published on 21 Jun 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2001-1497 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Ie. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-1497/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-1497/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2001-1497
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2001-1497
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2001-1497

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-1497/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.