CVE-2002-1179

CVE-2002-1179 describes a buffer overflow vulnerability in the S/MIME parsing capability of Microsoft Outlook Express versions 5.5 and 6.0. This flaw allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on a victim's system simply by sending a digitally signed email containing an excessively long "From" address, which triggers the overflow when the message is viewed or previewed. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 7.5, indicating high severity with a network-based attack vector and low attack complexity, requiring no authentication. Successful exploitation could lead to partial compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. While not listed on the CISA KEV catalog, exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available on ExploitDB. Despite its age and the availability of exploit code, there is no evidence of active exploitation, and it has received minimal community discussion or media coverage.