CVE-1999-0294
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAll records in a WINS database can be deleted through SNMP for a denial of service.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to delete all records in a WINS (Windows Internet Name Service) database through unauthenticated SNMP write requests, causing a denial of service. WINS was a legacy Windows server component for NetBIOS name resolution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify WINS is installed on the systemOn Windows Server, open Server Manager > Add Roles and Features, or check Services snap-in (services.msc) for 'Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)' entry. Alternatively, check registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WINS for existence.Affected if WINS server role or service is present and installed
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Confirm SNMP Service is runningOpen Services snap-in (services.msc) and locate 'SNMP Service' or run 'sc query snmp' from elevated command prompt. Check if the service status is Running.Affected if SNMP service is installed and running on the WINS server
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Check SNMP community string configurationOpen Services snap-in, double-click SNMP Service > Security tab. Review the accepted community names and verify whether 'Write' access is granted to any community string (typically 'public' by default).Affected if SNMP write access is enabled with a community string that could be guessed or is left at default settings
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Determine if SNMP ports are exposed to untrusted networksRun 'netstat -an | findstr "161\|162"' or check firewall rules for inbound UDP rules on ports 161 and 162. Review network boundary filters and ACLs on routers or switches.Affected if UDP ports 161 (SNMP) and 162 (SNMP Trap) are listening on external or untrusted network interfaces and are not blocked at network boundaries
A system is affected if it runs WINS with SNMP service enabled and SNMP write access is accessible to untrusted networks, allowing remote deletion of WINS database records via unauthenticated SNMP write requests.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataDisable SNMP write access to WINS servers, filter UDP ports 161/162 at network boundaries, and consider migrating away from WINS as it is deprecated technology.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0294 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-1999-0294 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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