# CVE-2001-1542: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass email filtering by sending improperly MIME encoded attachments, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution in email clients.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jul 2005
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w73j-5pjf-c8q7

## What is CVE-2001-1542?

CVE-2001-1542 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Jul 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

NAI WebShield SMTP 4.5 and possibly 4.5 MR1a does not filter improperly MIME encoded email attachments, which could allow remote attackers to bypass filtering and possibly execute arbitrary code in email clients that process the invalid attachments.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2001-1542?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Network Associates Webshield Smtp.

## How do I fix CVE-2001-1542?

No fix has been published for CVE-2001-1542 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2001-1542 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2001-1542 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2000-1130](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-1130/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2000-0738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0738/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2000-1129](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-1129/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2001-1542 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2001-1542 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Jul 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2001-1542 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2001-1542/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-1542/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2001-1542
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2001-1542
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2001-1542

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-1542/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.