CVE-1999-0407
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 · uneditedBy default, IIS 4.0 has a virtual directory /IISADMPWD which contains files that can be used as proxies for brute force password attacks, or to identify valid users on the system.
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 confidenceIIS 4.0 includes a default virtual directory /IISADMPWD containing password management scripts that can be abused as open proxies for brute force password attacks and to enumerate valid user accounts on the system.
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= 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/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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Verify IIS 4.0 is installedCheck the IIS version by examining the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\InetStp or by running 'inetmgr' and viewing the About informationAffected if The installed version is Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
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Locate the /IISADMPWD virtual directoryOpen IIS Manager (inetmgr), expand the server node, and look for a virtual directory named 'IISADMPWD' under the default website or check the metabase using adsutil.vbs (cscript adsutil.vbs enum /w3svc/1/root)Affected if The /IISADMPWD virtual directory exists in IIS
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Verify password script files existCheck the physical path associated with the /IISADMPWD virtual directory for files like iisadmpwd.asp, iisadmpwd.aec, iisadmpwd.asp, or iispwchg.aspAffected if These password management script files are present in the virtual directory path
The environment is affected if IIS 4.0 is running and the /IISADMPWD virtual directory with its password management scripts is present and accessible.
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.
dbcve · scopedRemove or disable the /IISADMPWD virtual directory in IIS and restrict access to password-related scripts.
Move to a supported Windows Server version with modern IIS (IIS 10.0 on Windows Server 2016/2019/2022)
- Open the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager console
- Locate the server and expand it to show all websites
- Find and expand the 'Default Web Site' (or the affected website)
- Look for the 'IISADMPWD' virtual directory in the list
- Right-click on 'IISADMPWD' and select 'Delete' to remove the virtual directory
- Alternatively, navigate to the physical directory (typically C:\Inetpub\IISADMPWD) and delete or rename the entire folder
- Verify the virtual directory is removed by attempting to access http://localhost/IISADMPWD - it should return a 404 error
- If IISADMPWD was installed as an option pack component, use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall the 'IIS Password Change' or 'IISADMPWD' component
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0407 — 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-1999-0407 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data