CVE-2002-1165: Sendmail Consortium's Restricted Shell (SMRSH) in Sendmail 8.12.6, 8.11.6-15, and possibly other versions afte

Routine

MEDIUM 4.6DOWNGRADEMITIGATE

CVE-2002-1165 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 4.6) affecting sendmail, netbsd. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Sendmail Consortium's Restricted Shell (SMRSH) in Sendmail 8.12.6, 8.11.6-15, and possibly other versions after 8.11 from 5/19/1998, allows attackers to bypass the intended restrictions of smrsh by inserting additional commands after (1) "||" sequences or (2) "/" characters, which are not properly filtered or verified.

Why this priority

Public exploit reference

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

Risk facts

CVSS score	4.6 (Medium)
EPSS exploit chance	1.1% (top 34%)
CISA exploited list	No
Published	2002-10-11
Last modified	2026-06-16

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: netbsd · sendmail

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

Am I affected?

Timeline

2002-10-11 04:00 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-16 21:58 UTCUpdated Record last modified

sendmail sendmail DOWNGRADE

Affected: 8.12.0 · 8.12.1 · 8.12.2 · 8.12.3 · 8.12.4 · 8.12.5 · 8.12.6

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 8.12.0

1. Check installed version

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

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 8.12.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison sendmail sudo apt install sendmail=<VERSION_BEFORE_8.12.0> sudo apt-mark hold sendmail

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

dnf --showduplicates list sendmail sudo dnf downgrade sendmail-<VERSION_BEFORE_8.12.0> sudo dnf versionlock add sendmail

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.

netbsd netbsd MITIGATE

Affected: 1.5 · 1.5.1 · 1.5.2 · 1.5.3 · 1.6

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 1.5

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

Public exploits and detection

Public code exists for this CVE. Treat unpatched systems as at risk, and only run PoCs in a lab.

Exploit-DB: Sendmail 8.12.x - SMRSH Double Pipe Access Validation

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-2002-1165?

sendmail: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation; netbsd: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2002-1165 being exploited?

CVE-2002-1165 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-2002-1165 affect?

CVE-2002-1165 affects sendmail, netbsd. Severity is medium (CVSS 4.6). Sendmail Consortium's Restricted Shell (SMRSH) in Sendmail 8.12.6, 8.11.6-15, and possibly other versions after 8.11 from 5/19/1998, allows attackers to bypass the intended restrictions of smrsh by inserting additional commands after (1) "|

How urgent is CVE-2002-1165?

Priority 38/100. Public exploit reference

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References

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