CVE-1999-0739
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 · uneditedThe codebrws.asp sample file in IIS and Site Server allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files.
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 confidenceThe codebrws.asp sample file in IIS and Site Server contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files on the system by manipulating file paths in HTTP requests.
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
- 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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Verify IIS versionCheck the IIS version installed on the server. On IIS 4.0, open Internet Services Manager, right-click the server, and select Properties, or run 'inetmgr' and check the version information.Affected if The installed version is Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
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Locate codebrws.asp fileSearch for the codebrws.asp file in the IIS sample directories. Common paths include C:\Inetpub\iissamples or the scripts folder. Use file system search or check the physical path configured for the /iissamples virtual directory.Affected if The codebrws.asp file exists on the server in an accessible location
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Confirm sample scripts are mappedCheck if the IIS script mapping for .asp files is active and the /iissamples virtual directory is configured. Use Internet Services Manager to view the website properties and verify script mapping for ASP files is enabled.Affected if ASP script mapping is enabled and the sample directory is accessible via IIS
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Test remote accessibilityAttempt to access the vulnerable script via HTTP from an external system using a URL such as http://target/iissamples/sdk/asp/codebrws.asp or similar paths where the samples are hosted.Affected if The codebrws.asp file is reachable over HTTP and responds to requests
You are affected if running IIS 4.0 with the codebrws.asp sample file present and exposed via HTTP, allowing path traversal requests to read arbitrary files.
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 dataRemove or disable all sample files (especially codebrws.asp) from production IIS and Site Server installations, as sample files are not needed in production environments.
- Consultation1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0739 — 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-1999-0739 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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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