CVE-2001-0653

CVE-2001-0653 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Sendmail with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.6. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low.

Key facts

• Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 4.6)
• EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (64th percentile)
• Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
• Affected product: Sendmail
• Published: 2001-09-20
• Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

Sendmail 8.10.0 through 8.11.5, and 8.12.0 beta, allows local users to modify process memory and possibly gain privileges via a large value in the 'category' part of debugger (-d) command line arguments, which is interpreted as a negative number.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2001-0653?

Sendmail 8.10.0 through 8.11.5, and 8.12.0 beta, allows local users to modify process memory and possibly gain privileges via a large value in the 'category' part of debugger (-d) command line arguments, which is interpreted as a negative number.

How severe is CVE-2001-0653?

CVE-2001-0653 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.6, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2001-0653 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (64th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2001-0653?

CVE-2001-0653 primarily affects Sendmail. In total, 11 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2001-0653?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2001-0653 published?

CVE-2001-0653 was published on 2001-09-20 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

• ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/security/advisories/NetBSD-SA2001-017.txt.asc
• http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000412
• http://download.immunix.org/ImmunixOS/7.0/updates/IMNX-2001-70-032-01
• http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=99841063100516&w=2
• http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2001-106.html
• http://www.calderasystems.com/support/security/advisories/CSSA-2001-032.0.txt
• http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/l-133.shtml
• http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/security/2001/MDKSA-2001-075.php3
• http://www.novell.com/linux/security/advisories/2001_028_sendmail_txt.html
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/3163
• http://www.sendmail.org/8.11.html
• http://www1.itrc.hp.com/service/cki/docDisplay.do?docId=HPSBTL0112-007
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/7016

Affected products (11)

• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta10:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta12:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta16:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta5:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:sendmail:sendmail:8.12:beta7:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Sendmail

• CVE-2003-0694 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The prescan function in Sendmail 8.12.9 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via buffer overflow attacks,…
• CVE-2003-0161 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The prescan() function in the address parser (parseaddr.c) in Sendmail before 8.12.9 does not properly handle certain…
• CVE-2002-1337 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Buffer overflow in Sendmail 5.79 to 8.12.7 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via certain formatted…
• CVE-2007-2246 — High (CVSS 7.8): Unspecified vulnerability in HP-UX B.11.00 and B.11.11, when running sendmail 8.9.3 or 8.11.1; and HP-UX B.11.23 when…
• CVE-2006-0058 — High (CVSS 7.6): Signal handler race condition in Sendmail 8.13.x before 8.13.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by…
• CVE-2009-4565 — High (CVSS 7.5): sendmail before 8.14.4 does not properly handle a '\0' character in a Common Name (CN) field of an X.509 certificate,…

All CVEs affecting Sendmail →