# CVE-2002-1131: SquirrelMail - XSS

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2002-1131 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2002-1131

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Background Noise. Continuous low-level scanning or exploitation attempts are observed, mostly opportunistic and automated.
- **CVSS score:** 7.5
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** SquirrelMail
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'))
- **Tags:** web_application

## Description

Cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in SquirrelMail 1.2.7 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute script as other web users via (1) addressbook.php, (2) options.php, (3) search.php, or (4) help.php.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2002-1131](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2002-1131) is a vulnerability in SquirrelMail that permits cross-site scripting attacks via multiple web interface endpoints, potentially enabling threat actors to execute malicious scripts in the context of other users.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 2nd of April 2025.

According to CrowdSec data, while opportunistic exploitation dominates, a portion of threat actors trying to exploit CVE-2002-1131 apply basic targeting methods such as port or service detection. This indicates emerging patterns of selective targeting.
In addition, according to the CrowdSec network, attack volume against CVE-2002-1131 has dipped slightly compared to the previous week. Although still commonly targeted, the decline suggests a cooling-off period. Long-term relevance remains, but attention is waning.

Observed exploitation techniques involve requests to endpoints such as `/src/addressbook.php`, `/src/options.php`, `/src/search.php`, and `/src/help.php`.

## Timeline

- 2002-09-24: CVE Published. CVE-2002-1131 is published to NVD.
- 2025-04-02: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2002-1131 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-04-07: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2002-1131 for the first time.

## References

- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2002/CVE-2002-1131.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2002-1131) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2002-1131. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.