How severe is CVE-2004-1617?

CVE-2004-1617 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 5.0, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2004-1617 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (89th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2004-1617?

CVE-2004-1617 primarily affects University Of Kansas Lynx. In total, 16 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2004-1617?

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

When was CVE-2004-1617 published?

CVE-2004-1617 was published on 2004-10-18 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

CVE-2004-1617

CVE-2004-1617 is a medium-severity vulnerability in University Of Kansas Lynx with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 5.0. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-20.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 5.0)
EPSS exploit prediction: 4% (89th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-20
Affected product: University Of Kansas Lynx
Published: 2004-10-18
Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

Lynx, lynx-ssl, and lynx-cur before 2.8.6dev.8 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a web page or HTML email that contains invalid HTML including (1) a TEXTAREA tag with a large COLS value and (2) a large tag name in an element that is not terminated, as demonstrated by mangleme. NOTE: a followup suggests that the relevant trigger for this issue is the large COLS value.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2004-1617?: Lynx, lynx-ssl, and lynx-cur before 2.8.6dev.8 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a web page or HTML email that contains invalid HTML including (1) a TEXTAREA tag with a large COLS value and (2) a large tag name in an element that is not terminated, as demonstrated by mangleme. NOTE: a followup suggests that the relevant trigger for this issue is the large COLS value.
How severe is CVE-2004-1617?: CVE-2004-1617 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 5.0, rated medium severity.
Is CVE-2004-1617 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (89th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2004-1617?: CVE-2004-1617 primarily affects University Of Kansas Lynx. In total, 16 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2004-1617?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2004-1617 published?: CVE-2004-1617 was published on 2004-10-18 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

Affected products (16)

cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.2_rel1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.3_dev22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.3_pre5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.3_rel1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.4_rel1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.5_dev2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.5_dev3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.5_dev4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.5_dev5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:university_of_kansas:lynx:2.8.5_dev8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in University Of Kansas Lynx

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CVE-2000-0209 — High (CVSS 7.6): Buffer overflow in Lynx 2.x allows remote attackers to crash Lynx and possibly execute commands via a long URL in a…
CVE-2005-2929 — High (CVSS 7.5): Lynx 2.8.5, and other versions before 2.8.6dev.15, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via (1)…
CVE-2002-1405 — Medium (CVSS 5.0): CRLF injection vulnerability in Lynx 2.8.4 and earlier allows remote attackers to inject false HTTP headers into an…
CVE-1999-0371 — Low (CVSS 1.2): Lynx allows a local user to overwrite sensitive files through /tmp symlinks.

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