# CVE-2002-1850: Denial of service in n/a

> Local or remote attackers can cause a denial of service in Apache by triggering a deadlock via large stderr output from CGI scripts.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 Jun 2005
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2002-1850, GHSA-vfpr-g7cv-3qw9

## What is CVE-2002-1850?

CVE-2002-1850 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Http Server, published on 28 Jun 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

mod_cgi in Apache 2.0.39 and 2.0.40 allows local users and possibly remote attackers to cause a denial of service (hang and memory consumption) by causing a CGI script to send a large amount of data to stderr, which results in a read/write deadlock between httpd and the CGI script.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2002-1850?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apache Http Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2002-1850?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2002-1850 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2002-1850 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Apache 2.0.39/40 - Oversized STDERR Buffer Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Apache Http Server

- [CVE-2021-42013](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42013/): Apache HTTP Server Path Traversal (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-38475](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38475/): Apache HTTP Server Improper Escaping of Output (critical 9.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-40438](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40438/): Apache HTTP Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (critical 9.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-0211](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0211/): Apache HTTP Server Privilege Escalation (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-41773](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-41773/): Apache HTTP Server Path Traversal (high 7.5, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2002-1850 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2002-1850 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Http Server, published on 28 Jun 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2002-1850 exists.

Affected product: Apache Http Server. 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-2002-1850/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1850/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2002-1850
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2002-1850
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2002-1850

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1850/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.