# CVE-2004-1488: Command injection in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code by sending malicious terminal escape sequences in HTTP responses to users running wget.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Feb 2005
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2004-1488, GHSA-xrhg-fh2g-fpxj

## What is CVE-2004-1488?

CVE-2004-1488 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 15 Feb 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

wget 1.8.x and 1.9.x does not filter or quote control characters when displaying HTTP responses to the terminal, which may allow remote malicious web servers to inject terminal escape sequences and execute arbitrary code.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-1488?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Wget.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-1488?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2004-1488 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-1488 exists.

Public exploit code:

- GNU Wget 1.x - Multiple Vulnerabilities (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-5953](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5953/): Memory corruption in GNU Wget (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-4877](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-4877/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-38428](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38428/): Other in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-58469](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-58469/): GNU Wget 1.25.0 Heap Buffer Underread via Metalink URL Parsing (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2016-7098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7098/): Race condition in n/a (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-1488 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-1488 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 15 Feb 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: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-1488 exists.

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-2004-1488/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1488/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-1488
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-1488
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-1488

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1488/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.