CVE-1999-0700
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in Microsoft Phone Dialer (dialer.exe), via a malformed dialer entry in the dialer.ini file.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Phone Dialer (dialer.exe) allowing arbitrary code execution via a malformed dialer entry in the dialer.ini configuration file.
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 versionsall 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:H/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.
-
Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' or check system properties to confirm the Windows version. Look for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000.Affected if The system is running Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000, as these are the affected versions.
-
Locate dialer.exeSearch for dialer.exe in the Windows system directory (typically C:\WINNT\system32 or C:\Windows\system32) using File Explorer or the command 'dir /s C:\dialer.exe'.Affected if dialer.exe is present on the system.
-
Locate dialer.ini configuration fileSearch for dialer.ini in the Windows directory or user profile directories using 'dir /s C:\dialer.ini' or check the same directory as dialer.exe.Affected if dialer.ini exists, as the vulnerability is triggered through malformed entries in this file.
-
Check if Phone Dialer is registered as a startup componentCheck Windows startup entries in the Registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run or look for Phone Dialer shortcuts in the Startup folder.Affected if Phone Dialer is configured to run at startup, making it a potential attack vector.
A system is affected if it runs Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 AND has dialer.exe present with an accessible dialer.ini configuration file, as the buffer overflow requires both the vulnerable executable and its configuration file to be exploitable.
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 dataApply historical Microsoft patch or, given the obsolete nature of this software (Windows 9x/ME era), remove or disable the Phone Dialer component entirely from affected systems.
- 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-1999-0700 — 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-1999-0700 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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