CVE-2000-0326 in Meeting Maker
Summary
by MITRE
Meeting Maker uses weak encryption (a polyalphabetic substitution cipher) for passwords, which allows remote attackers to sniff and decrypt passwords for Meeting Maker accounts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2026
The vulnerability described in CVE-2000-0326 represents a critical cryptographic weakness in the Meeting Maker application that was widely used for scheduling and meeting management in corporate environments. This flaw stems from the implementation of a polyalphabetic substitution cipher for password encryption, a technique that was considered inadequate even by the standards of the late 1990s. The vulnerability falls under the category of weak cryptographic algorithms as classified by CWE-327, specifically addressing the use of insufficiently strong encryption methods that can be easily broken through cryptanalysis techniques.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the fundamental weakness of polyalphabetic ciphers, which were historically used in early cryptography but have been deprecated due to their susceptibility to frequency analysis and pattern recognition attacks. When Meeting Maker stored or transmitted passwords using this encryption method, it created a scenario where network traffic could be intercepted and analyzed by attackers with minimal computational resources. The cipher's structure allowed for the reconstruction of original passwords through systematic analysis of character frequency distributions and pattern recognition, making the security mechanism essentially useless against determined adversaries.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability posed significant risks to organizations relying on Meeting Maker for their scheduling infrastructure. The ability for remote attackers to sniff network traffic and decrypt passwords meant that unauthorized parties could gain access to calendar systems, meeting schedules, and potentially sensitive business information. The attack vector was particularly dangerous because it required no sophisticated tools or extensive computational resources, making it accessible to attackers with basic network monitoring capabilities. This weakness essentially provided a backdoor into corporate scheduling systems that could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to meeting-related data and potentially escalate privileges within the organization's network infrastructure.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple password theft, as calendar systems often contain sensitive business information including strategic planning details, confidential discussions, and personal employee data. The weakness directly violates security principles outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1566 technique for credential access through network sniffing and T1552 for unsecured credentials. Organizations using Meeting Maker were particularly vulnerable because the application likely did not implement additional security controls to compensate for the weak encryption, creating a single point of failure that could compromise entire scheduling systems.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate action including the replacement of the Meeting Maker application with versions that implemented strong encryption protocols such as AES or RSA algorithms. Network administrators needed to implement additional monitoring and detection mechanisms to identify potential exploitation attempts, while organizations should have enforced password policies that required frequent changes and complex password generation. The incident highlighted the importance of cryptographic best practices and the necessity of regular security assessments to identify and remediate weak encryption implementations. Organizations should have also considered network segmentation and additional authentication layers to reduce the impact of such vulnerabilities. The vulnerability serves as a historical example of how insufficient attention to cryptographic security can create persistent threats that remain exploitable for extended periods, emphasizing the need for continuous security updates and proper implementation of industry-standard encryption protocols.