CVE-2002-0081

An attacker sends a crafted `multipart/form-data` HTTP POST request to a PHP-enabled web server. The `php_mime_split` or `php3_mime_split` function contains buffer overflows that are triggered during parsing of the malformed multipart data [ref_id=1]. Successful exploitation allows remote code execution with the privileges of the web server process, or can cause a denial of service [ref_id=1].

The vulnerability resides in the `php_mime_split` function (PHP 4.1.0, 4.1.1, 4.0.6 and earlier) and the `php3_mime_split` function (PHP 3.0.x). These functions are responsible for parsing multipart/form-data HTTP POST requests when the `file_uploads` configuration directive is enabled.

The advisory recommends upgrading PHP to a patched version or applying the provided diffs (`rfc1867.c.diff-4.1.x.gz`, `rfc1867.c.diff-4.0.6.gz`, `mime.c.diff-3.0.gz`) [ref_id=1]. As a workaround, setting `file_uploads = Off` in `php.ini` disables file uploads and eliminates the attack surface, though this may not be acceptable for all deployments [ref_id=1].