# CVE-2004-0121: Command injection in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary programs via argument injection in mailto URLs, requiring user interaction to open the link.

- **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:** 1 Sep 2004
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-88qv-6q9j-fhvv

## What is CVE-2004-0121?

CVE-2004-0121 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 1 Sep 2004. 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

Argument injection vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook 2002 does not sufficiently filter parameters of mailto: URLs when using them as arguments when calling OUTLOOK.EXE, which allows remote attackers to use script code in the Local Machine zone and execute arbitrary programs.

Weakness: CWE-88 (Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-0121?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-0121?

No fix has been published for CVE-2004-0121 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2004-0121 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-0121 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Microsoft Outlook 2002 - 'Mailto' Quoting Zone Bypass (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office

- [CVE-2018-0798](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0798/): Microsoft Office Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-1770](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1770/): Microsoft Office Uninitialized Memory Use (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2006-2492](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-2492/): Microsoft Word Malformed Object Pointer (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0802](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0802/): Microsoft Office Memory Corruption (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-11882](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11882/): Microsoft Office Memory Corruption (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-0121 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-0121 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Microsoft Office, published on 1 Sep 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-0121 exists.

Affected product: Microsoft Office. 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-2004-0121/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0121/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-0121
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-0121
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-0121

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0121/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.