CVE-2000-0291 in StarOffice
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in Star Office 5.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service by embedding a long URL within a document.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2000-0291 represents a classic buffer overflow condition affecting Star Office 5.1, a popular office suite developed by Sun Microsystems during the late 1990s. This flaw exists within the document processing engine responsible for handling various file formats including html and web content embedded within office documents. The buffer overflow occurs when the application processes a document containing an excessively long URL string that exceeds the allocated memory buffer size. This particular vulnerability demonstrates the common pattern of insufficient input validation where the software fails to properly check the length of user-supplied data before processing it. The flaw is categorized under CWE-121 as a stack-based buffer overflow, indicating that the vulnerable code attempts to write data beyond the bounds of a fixed-length buffer located on the stack. The specific context of this vulnerability involves the handling of hypertext references within office documents, where Star Office attempts to parse and display web addresses embedded in the document content.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the lack of proper bounds checking in the URL parsing component of Star Office 5.1. When a maliciously crafted document containing an abnormally long URL is opened, the application's internal buffer handling mechanism fails to validate the input length, causing the program to overwrite adjacent memory locations. This overflow condition typically results in program termination or unpredictable behavior rather than direct code execution, though the denial of service impact remains significant. The attack vector requires the victim to open a specially crafted document, making this a client-side vulnerability that relies on social engineering or phishing techniques to deliver the malicious payload. The vulnerability affects the application's ability to process documents properly, leading to system instability and complete application crash. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1203 as a process injection technique where the application becomes unresponsive due to memory corruption, and T1499 as a network denial of service attack through application-level exploitation.
The operational impact of CVE-2000-0291 extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass broader security implications for organizations relying on Star Office 5.1 for document processing. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause complete application failure, forcing users to restart their systems and potentially lose unsaved work. This denial of service condition affects productivity and can be particularly problematic in enterprise environments where document sharing and collaboration are critical. The vulnerability remains relevant in understanding historical security practices and demonstrates the importance of input validation in software development. Organizations using legacy office suites must consider the risk of similar vulnerabilities in older software versions, as many of these systems continue to operate in enterprise environments despite being outdated. The vulnerability also highlights the need for proper memory management practices and the importance of implementing robust error handling mechanisms in applications that process external data. Security professionals should note that this type of vulnerability was common in software from the late 1990s and early 2000s, when memory safety practices were less standardized and comprehensive than they are today. The exploitability of this vulnerability requires minimal technical knowledge, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users may encounter malicious documents through email attachments or shared network drives.