CVE-2000-0082 in WebTV
Summary
by MITRE
WebTV email client allows remote attackers to force the client to send email without the user's knowledge via HTML.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/20/2026
The vulnerability described in CVE-2000-0082 represents a significant security flaw in the WebTV email client that enabled remote attackers to execute unauthorized email transmission without user consent. This issue stems from the client's inadequate validation of HTML content, particularly when processing email messages that contain maliciously crafted HTML code. The vulnerability exists within the email client's handling of hypertext markup language elements, which allows attackers to manipulate the client's behavior through crafted email payloads.
This security weakness falls under the category of unauthorized action execution and can be classified as a form of cross-site scripting or HTML injection attack. The technical flaw manifests when the WebTV email client processes HTML content in email messages, failing to properly sanitize or validate the markup before rendering it. Attackers can exploit this by embedding specific HTML elements within email messages that trigger the client to send pre-defined email content automatically. The vulnerability specifically affects the client-side email processing functionality and demonstrates a critical failure in input validation and output sanitization mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized email sending, as it represents a fundamental breach of user trust and privacy in the email communication system. Users who receive malicious emails containing crafted HTML code may unknowingly have their email clients send messages without their knowledge or consent, potentially leading to spam distribution, phishing attacks, or other malicious activities. The remote nature of the attack means that users can be compromised from anywhere with internet access, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where email systems are heavily utilized.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with several ATT&CK framework techniques including T1192 (Phishing with Spoofed Credentials) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) as attackers can leverage this weakness to automate email transmission. From a CWE perspective, this vulnerability relates to CWE-79 which covers Cross-Site Scripting, and CWE-20 which addresses Improper Input Validation. Organizations should implement comprehensive email security measures including HTML content filtering, email client security updates, and user education about suspicious email content. Network administrators should also consider implementing email gateway filtering to prevent malicious HTML content from reaching client systems, while users should be trained to recognize potentially malicious email attachments or links that may contain crafted HTML code designed to exploit this vulnerability.