# CVE-2003-1020: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote IRC users can crash the irssi client via a flaw in the format_send_to_gui function, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 23 Dec 2003
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fq8q-v9gq-h5cq

## What is CVE-2003-1020?

CVE-2003-1020 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux, published on 23 Dec 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The format_send_to_gui function in formats.c for irssi before 0.8.9 allows remote IRC users to cause a denial of service (crash).

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-1020?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Irssi Irssi, Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-1020?

No fix has been published for CVE-2003-1020 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2003-1020 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-1020 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux

- [CVE-2002-1840](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1840/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2017-10965](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-10965/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-10966](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-10966/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7191](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7191/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2007-4396](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-4396/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-1020 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-1020 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux, published on 23 Dec 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-1020 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux. 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-2003-1020/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1020/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-1020
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-1020
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-1020

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1020/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.