CVE-1999-0386
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Personal Web Server and FrontPage Personal Web Server in some Windows systems allows a remote attacker to read files on the server by using a nonstandard URL.
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 confidenceMicrosoft Personal Web Server and FrontPage Personal Web Server contain a path traversal vulnerability where a remote attacker can read arbitrary files on the server by using a nonstandard URL (likely containing directory traversal sequences such as '../'). This allows unauthorized access to sensitive files outside the web root directory.
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 versions= 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
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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Check if Personal Web Server 4.0 is installedOpen Windows Control Panel, go to Add/Remove Programs, and look for 'Personal Web Server' or check the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PWS for version informationAffected if Personal Web Server version 4.0 is present on the system
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Check if FrontPage Server Extensions are installedLook for the 'fp40' or 'fp95' directories under the web server root or in Program Files, or check for the 'shtml.exe' or 'fpadmdll.dll' files typical of FrontPage installationsAffected if FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on the system
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Verify the web service is running and accessibleAttempt to access the local web server on port 80 (e.g., http://localhost/) using a web browser or curl commandAffected if The Personal Web Server or FrontPage web service is currently running and responding to HTTP requests
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Test for path traversal vulnerabilitySend an HTTP request with directory traversal sequences to access files outside the web root, such as http://localhost/..%5C..%5Cwindows\win.ini or similar patternsAffected if The server returns content from files outside the web root directory, indicating the vulnerability is present and exploitable
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Check for sensitive files accessible via webReview what files exist in directories accessible by the web server and attempt to access known sensitive locations like system directories using the traversal patternAffected if The web server process has read access to sensitive system files that can be retrieved via crafted URL requests
Your environment is affected if Personal Web Server 4.0 or FrontPage Server Extensions are installed and the web service is running, as either configuration allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via directory traversal URLs.
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 Personal Web Server is obsolete and no longer supported, the recommended remediation is to migrate to a currently supported web server platform (such as IIS with current security updates or Apache/Nginx) and decommission the legacy PWS installation. If PWS must remain temporarily, implement URL filtering at any network perimeter firewall to block requests containing traversal patterns.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0386 — 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-1999-0386 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
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