Cause
The files that contain the vulnerability are associated with Microsoft Outlook Express, which is included as part of Internet Explorer. If all of the following conditions exist, Outlook Express is not upgraded and the vulnerability remains:
- You are running Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me). Note that Internet Explorer 6 is not supported on Microsoft Windows 95.
- You upgraded from Internet Explorer 5, 5.01, 5.01 Service Pack 1 (SP1), 5.5, or 5.5 SP1 to Internet Explorer 6.
- You did not apply the patch for MS01-020 or MS01-027 before you upgraded to Internet Explorer 6.
- When you installed Internet Explorer 6, you either selected the Custom Install option and cleared the option to install Outlook Express, or you selected the Minimal Install option.
Note that this issue does not apply to Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows XP because the vulnerable code is always updated on these versions of Windows.