CVE-2000-0238 in Norton Antivirus
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the web server for Norton AntiVirus for Internet Email Gateways allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a long URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2000-0238 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the web server component of Norton AntiVirus for Internet Email Gateways version 2.0. This security weakness resides in the handling of Uniform Resource Locators and specifically affects the web interface that administrators use to manage the email gateway functionality. The buffer overflow occurs when the web server processes incoming HTTP requests containing excessively long URLs that exceed the allocated buffer space. This particular vulnerability demonstrates a classic software security flaw where input validation is insufficient, allowing malicious actors to exploit memory management issues in the application's processing logic. The affected system operates as a network security appliance that filters and scans email traffic for malicious content, making it a potential target for attackers seeking to disrupt email services.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking within the web server's URL parsing routine. When a remote attacker submits a malformed HTTP request containing an abnormally long URL, the web server fails to validate the input length against the allocated buffer size. This lack of input sanitization allows the excessive data to overflow into adjacent memory locations, potentially corrupting critical program state information or executing arbitrary code. The vulnerability manifests as a denial of service condition rather than direct code execution, though the underlying buffer overflow mechanism remains a serious security concern. According to the CWE database, this represents a classic CWE-121 buffer overflow vulnerability that occurs in stack-based buffers where insufficient bounds checking permits memory corruption. The attack vector requires only a simple HTTP request with an oversized URL parameter to trigger the vulnerable code path.
The operational impact of CVE-2000-0238 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire email gateway infrastructure. When exploited, the buffer overflow causes the web server process to crash or become unresponsive, effectively denying administrators access to the management interface and potentially disrupting email filtering services. This denial of service condition can persist until the affected service is manually restarted or the system is rebooted, creating significant operational downtime. Organizations relying on this email gateway for security operations face substantial risk as attackers could repeatedly exploit this vulnerability to maintain persistent service disruption. The vulnerability also represents a potential stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks, as the compromised web server interface could provide attackers with additional attack surface to explore. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004 Network Denial of Service and T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol, demonstrating how a single flaw can enable multiple attack techniques.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2000-0238 should focus on immediate patching and configuration hardening measures. The primary solution involves applying the vendor-provided security update that corrects the buffer overflow vulnerability through proper input validation and bounds checking mechanisms. Organizations should also implement network-level protections such as firewall rules that limit URL length parameters and monitor for suspicious HTTP request patterns. Additionally, configuring the web server to reject requests exceeding predetermined URL length thresholds provides an additional layer of defense. System administrators should conduct regular security assessments to identify similar buffer overflow vulnerabilities in other applications and network services. The vulnerability highlights the importance of input validation practices and proper memory management in security-critical applications. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on malformed HTTP requests that attempt to exploit buffer overflow vulnerabilities. Regular security training for administrators on recognizing and responding to such vulnerabilities remains essential for maintaining robust security postures.