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CVE-2003-1232

29
FAUCET Score

CVE-2003-1232 describes a vulnerability in Emacs 21.2.1 where it fails to warn users before executing Lisp code embedded in a text file's local variables section. This allows an attacker to execute arbitrary commands, such as through the mode-name variable, requiring user interaction to trigger. With a CVSS score of 5.1, this vulnerability has a network attack vector, high access complexity, and potential for partial compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. While not listed in CISA's KEV catalog, exploit code is publicly available on ExploitDB, and it has garnered significant community discussion, indicating awareness and potential for exploitation.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
21.2.1CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:emacs:21.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 2.0

5.1MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Confidentiality Impact
PARTIAL
Integrity Impact
PARTIAL
Availability Impact
PARTIAL
Access Vector
NETWORK
Access Complexity
HIGH
Authentication
NONE
Exploitability Score
4.9
Impact Score
6.4
CvssVersion
2.0

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
3.01%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
86.0%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-25
Model: v2026.06.15
ExploitDB: EDB-26492 · Dec 31, 2002
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0301 is in the 79th percentile among its peer group of 19,955 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.0 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.2 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Remediation records are not available for this CVE.

References

bugs.debian.org / cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi
groups.google.com / group/gnu.emacs.bug/browse_frm/thread/9424ec1b2fdae321/c691a2da8904db0f
lists.grok.org.uk / pipermail/full-disclosure/2003-May/005089.html
Patch
secunia.com / advisories/17496
mandriva.com / security/advisories
securityfocus.com / bid/15375