CVE-2000-0847: Buffer overflow in University of Washington c-client library (used by pine and other programs) allows remot...

Security readout for executives and security teams

A flaw in the University of Washington c-client email library, used by Pine and related mail programs, let a specially crafted incoming email header crash or hijack the mail reader. Because the issue is in a shared library, any program that linked to it was potentially at risk when processing mailboxes containing a malicious message. Exposure is limited to legacy Unix systems still running unpatched Pine or other c-client-linked mail tools from the 2000 era. Modern mail stacks and current MUAs are not affected. Any residual exposure lives in unmaintained hosts, archival systems, or embedded appliances that still ship this decades-old library. Low priority for modern environments, but treat as high on any surviving legacy Unix mail host. If your organization still runs Pine or a c-client-based mail service, patch or decommission it now; otherwise, confirm through asset inventory that no such systems remain and close the ticket with evidence. Mitigation focus: Upgrade Pine and any c-client-linked applications to vendor-patched releases beyond the 2000 advisories.; Apply the FreeBSD SA-00:47.pine advisory on affected BSD hosts, or the equivalent OS vendor patch.; Retire or isolate legacy Unix mail hosts that cannot be updated to a supported mail client..

Prepared

Jul 11, 2026, 23:58 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.