Microsoft Outlook Express up to 6 SP1 Mail Header denial of service

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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7.2$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Outlook Express up to 6 SP1 and classified as problematic. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component Mail Header Handler. Executing a manipulation can lead to denial of service. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2004-0215. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. Applying a patch is advised to resolve this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Microsoft Outlook Express up to 6 SP1 (Mail Client Software) and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects an unknown code of the component Mail Header Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 and 6 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a malformed e-mail header.

The bug was discovered 07/13/2004. The weakness was published 07/13/2004 with Microsoft as MS04-018 as confirmed bulletin (Technet). The advisory is shared for download at microsoft.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2004-0215 since 03/11/2004. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1499.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 13643 (MS04-018: Cumulative Security Update for Outlook Express (823353)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Windows : Microsoft Bulletins and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 90136 (Microsoft Outlook Express Denial of Service (MS04-018)).

Applying the patch MS04-018 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at microsoft.com. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (16585), Tenable (13643), SecurityFocus (BID 10711†), OSVDB (7793†) and Secunia (SA12038†). Additional details are provided at microsoft.com. VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
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CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.2

VulDB Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Temp Score: 7.2
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
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Exploitinginfo

Class: Denial of service
CWE: CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

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Nessus ID: 13643
Nessus Name: MS04-018: Cumulative Security Update for Outlook Express (823353)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
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Threat Intelligenceinfo

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Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
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Patch: MS04-018

Timelineinfo

03/11/2004 🔍
07/13/2004 +124 days 🔍
07/13/2004 +0 days 🔍
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07/14/2004 +0 days 🔍
07/14/2004 +0 days 🔍
08/06/2004 +23 days 🔍
07/13/2025 +7646 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com

Advisory: MS04-018
Researcher: http://www.microsoft.com
Organization: Microsoft
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2004-0215 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2004-0215
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-760

OVAL: 🔍

CERT: 🔍
X-Force: 16585 - Microsoft Outlook Express malformed email header denial of service, Medium Risk
SecurityFocus: 10711 - Microsoft Outlook Express Malformed Email Header Denial Of Service Vulnerability
Secunia: 12038 - Microsoft Outlook Express Header Validation Denial of Service Weakness, Not Critical
OSVDB: 7793 - Microsoft Outlook Express Header Validation DoS
Vulnerability Center: 4721 - [MS04-018] DoS in Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 and 6 via Malformed E-Mail Header, Medium

Misc.: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 07/14/2004 11:34
Updated: 07/13/2025 11:02
Changes: 07/14/2004 11:34 (92), 06/28/2019 21:36 (2), 01/02/2025 13:22 (17), 07/13/2025 11:02 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216:647:103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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