Internet Information ServerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2000-0025

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-12-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
IIS 4.0 and Site Server 3.0 allow remote attackers to read source code for ASP files if the file is in a virtual directory whose name includes extensions such as .com, .exe, .sh, .cgi, or .dll, aka the "Virtual Directory Naming" vulnerability.

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 confidence

IIS 4.0 and Site Server 3.0 contain a vulnerability where ASP source code can be exposed to remote attackers when the files reside in virtual directories whose names contain file extensions such as .com, .exe, .sh, .cgi, or .dll. This allows unauthenticated attackers to view the plaintext source code of ASP files, potentially revealing sensitive information like database credentials, business logic, or other secrets.

MitigationRename affected virtual directories to remove file extension-like components from their names, or upgrade to patched versions of IIS and Site Server. Restrict network access to legacy IIS 4.0 and Site Server 3.0 systems where possible.

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
Internet Information ServerApplication
Affected:= 4.0
Site ServerApplication
Affected:= 3.0
Site Server CommerceApplication
Affected:= 3.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify IIS or Site Server version
    Check the version through IIS Manager (right-click server > Properties > General tab) or by querying the registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W3SVC\Parameters\MajorVersion
    Affected if Version equals 4.0 for IIS or 3.0 for Site Server (indicates vulnerable version)
  2. Enumerate virtual directories with extension-like names
    Open IIS Manager, expand all websites, and list all virtual directories. Look for directory names containing .com, .exe, .sh, .cgi, or .dll (for example: /scripts.exe, /cgi-bin, /scripts.dll, /myshop.com)
    Affected if Any virtual directory exists with a name containing these file extensions
  3. Verify ASP files exist in extension-named virtual directories
    Browse the identified virtual directories and check if .asp files are present in them
    Affected if .asp files are stored within virtual directories that have extension-like names
  4. Test for source code exposure
    Attempt to access an ASP file through the vulnerable virtual directory URL (e.g., http://target/scripts.dll/somepage.asp or http://target/virt.com/file.asp) using a web browser or curl. If the server returns plaintext ASP source code instead of executing it, the vulnerability is present
    Affected if Accessing .asp files through extension-named virtual directories returns plaintext source code instead of rendered HTML output

You are affected if running IIS 4.0 or Site Server 3.0 AND you have ASP files in virtual directories whose names contain extensions like .com, .exe, .sh, .cgi, or .dll, with those ASP files exposing plaintext source when accessed via the web.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Rename affected virtual directories to remove file extension-like components from their names, or upgrade to patched versions of IIS and Site Server. Restrict network access to legacy IIS 4.0 and Site Server 3.0 systems where possible.

Fix this in Internet Information Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2000-0025 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2000-0025 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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