CVE-1999-1544
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 FTP server in Microsoft IIS 3.0 and 4.0 allows local and sometimes remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a long NLST (ls) command.
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 the FTP server component of Microsoft IIS versions 3.0 and 4.0 allows attackers to cause a denial of service by sending an excessively long NLST (Name List) command, which overflows a buffer and crashes the FTP service.
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= 3.0= 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
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 IIS installationCheck if Microsoft IIS is installed by looking for the IIS service: run 'net start' or check Services mmc for 'IIS' or 'World Wide Web Publishing Service'Affected if IIS is present on the system
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Determine IIS versionCheck the IIS version: open Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W3SVC\Parameters, look for 'MajorVersion' and 'MinorVersion' values, or run 'iisreset' and check the version infoAffected if Version is 3.0 or 4.0
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Verify FTP service statusCheck if the IIS FTP service is running: run 'net start' and look for 'FTP Publishing Service' or check Services for 'Microsoft FTP Service'Affected if FTP service is running on IIS 3.0 or 4.0
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Confirm vulnerability applies to your configurationThe vulnerability is triggered by sending an excessively long NLST command to the FTP server. Check if external or internal FTP access is permitted through any firewall or ACL rulesAffected if IIS FTP is exposed and running on version 3.0 or 4.0
You are affected if IIS versions 3.0 or 4.0 are installed with the FTP service enabled and accessible on the network.
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 Microsoft patches for this vulnerability; if patches are unavailable due to the age of the systems, consider upgrading to a supported IIS version or disabling the FTP service if not required, and implement network segmentation to limit exposure.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-1544 — 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-1999-1544 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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