CVE-2002-1121: SMTP content filter engines, including (1) GFI MailSecurity for Exchange/SMTP before 7.2, (2) InterScan VirusW

This month

HIGH 7.5DOWNGRADEDOWNGRADEDOWNGRADE

CVE-2002-1121 is a high-severity flaw (CVSS 7.5) affecting mailsecurity, webshield smtp, canit. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

SMTP content filter engines, including (1) GFI MailSecurity for Exchange/SMTP before 7.2, (2) InterScan VirusWall before 3.52 build 1494, (3) the default configuration of MIMEDefang before 2.21, and possibly other products, do not detect fragmented emails as defined in RFC2046 ("Message Fragmentation and Reassembly") and supported in such products as Outlook Express, which allows remote attackers to bypass content filtering, including virus check

Why this priority

High severity
EPSS top 6%: very likely to be exploited

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	7.5 (High)
EPSS exploit chance	6.7% (top 6%)
CISA exploited list	No
Published	2002-09-24
Last modified	2026-06-16

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: gfi · network associates · roaring penguin · trend micro

Last updated 2026-06-16 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2002-09-24 04:00 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-16 21:58 UTCUpdated Record last modified

gfi mailsecurity DOWNGRADE

Affected: 7.2

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 7.2

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy mailsecurity || rpm -q mailsecurity || mailsecurity --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 7.2 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison mailsecurity sudo apt install mailsecurity=<VERSION_BEFORE_7.2> sudo apt-mark hold mailsecurity

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list mailsecurity sudo dnf downgrade mailsecurity-<VERSION_BEFORE_7.2> sudo dnf versionlock add mailsecurity

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

network associates webshield smtp DOWNGRADE

Affected: 4.0.5 · 4.5 · 4.5.44 · 4.5.74.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 4.0.5

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy webshield-smtp || rpm -q webshield-smtp || webshield-smtp --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 4.0.5 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison webshield-smtp sudo apt install webshield-smtp=<VERSION_BEFORE_4.0.5> sudo apt-mark hold webshield-smtp

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list webshield-smtp sudo dnf downgrade webshield-smtp-<VERSION_BEFORE_4.0.5> sudo dnf versionlock add webshield-smtp

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

roaring penguin canit DOWNGRADE

Affected: 1.2

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 1.2

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy canit || rpm -q canit || canit --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 1.2 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison canit sudo apt install canit=<VERSION_BEFORE_1.2> sudo apt-mark hold canit

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list canit sudo dnf downgrade canit-<VERSION_BEFORE_1.2> sudo dnf versionlock add canit

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

roaring penguin mimedefang DOWNGRADE

Affected: 2.14 · 2.20

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 2.14

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy mimedefang || rpm -q mimedefang || mimedefang --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 2.14 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison mimedefang sudo apt install mimedefang=<VERSION_BEFORE_2.14> sudo apt-mark hold mimedefang

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list mimedefang sudo dnf downgrade mimedefang-<VERSION_BEFORE_2.14> sudo dnf versionlock add mimedefang

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

trend micro interscan viruswall DOWNGRADE

Affected: 3.5 · 3.51 · 3.52

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 3.5

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy interscan-viruswall || rpm -q interscan-viruswall || interscan-viruswall --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 3.5 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison interscan-viruswall sudo apt install interscan-viruswall=<VERSION_BEFORE_3.5> sudo apt-mark hold interscan-viruswall

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list interscan-viruswall sudo dnf downgrade interscan-viruswall-<VERSION_BEFORE_3.5> sudo dnf versionlock add interscan-viruswall

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2002-1121?

mailsecurity: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation; webshield smtp: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation; canit: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2002-1121 being exploited?

CVE-2002-1121 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2002-1121 affect?

CVE-2002-1121 affects mailsecurity, webshield smtp, canit. Severity is high (CVSS 7.5). SMTP content filter engines, including (1) GFI MailSecurity for Exchange/SMTP before 7.2, (2) InterScan VirusWall before 3.52 build 1494, (3) the default configuration of MIMEDefang before 2.21, and possibly other products, do not detect fr

How urgent is CVE-2002-1121?

Priority 50/100. High severity; EPSS top 6%: very likely to be exploited

Software pages

Outlook vulnerabilities · Trend Micro vulnerabilities

Related CVEs

CVE-2005-3182 HIGH 7.5 DOWNGRADE Buffer overflow in the HTTP management interface for GFI MailSecurity 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute a
CVE-2004-1312 HIGH 10.0 DOWNGRADE DOWNGRADE A bug in the HTML parser in a certain Microsoft HTML library, as used in various third party products, may all

References

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