CVE-1999-0344
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 · uneditedNT users can gain debug-level access on a system process using the Sechole exploit.
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 · high confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows NT where unprivileged users can use the Sechole exploit to gain debug-level access on system processes, effectively achieving elevated privileges.
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 data= 3.5.1= 4.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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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Identify the operating system versionRun 'winmsd' or check System Properties to view the Windows version. On Windows NT, you can also use 'ver' at command prompt or check HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion in the registry.Affected if The version shows Windows NT 3.5.1 or Windows NT 4.0
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Confirm the NT build numberRun 'winmsd' and locate the Build number under the OS version information, or check the CurrentBuild value in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.Affected if The build number corresponds to an unpatched NT 4.0 or NT 3.5.1 installation (typically NT 4.0 builds prior to Service Pack 4, NT 3.5.1 prior to Service Pack 5)
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Verify unprivileged user accounts existOpen User Manager for Domains (NT 4.0) or User Manager (NT 3.5.1) and examine the list of local or domain users. Check for accounts that are not members of the Administrators or Power Users groups.Affected if There are user accounts with non-administrative privileges present on the system
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Check for debug privilege assignmentUse the 'whoami /priv' command or examine user group membership in User Manager. The Sechole exploit relies on unprivileged users having the ability to debug processes.Affected if Non-administrative users can access process debug functions or have been granted SeDebugPrivilege
The system is affected if it runs unpatched Windows NT 3.5.1 or Windows NT 4.0 and contains non-administrative user accounts that could exploit the SeDebugPrivilege.
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 dataSince this is a 1999 vulnerability affecting Windows NT, modern systems are not vulnerable. If Windows NT is still in use, migrate to a supported operating system. Ensure historical NT patches have been applied if the system remains in service.
- Consultation2.0 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-1999-0344 — 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-1999-0344 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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