Cern HttpdWeb server / proxy · W3c

CVE-2000-0079

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2000-01-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The W3C CERN httpd HTTP server allows remote attackers to determine the real pathnames of some commands via a request for a nonexistent URL.

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 confidence

The W3C CERN httpd HTTP server contains an information disclosure vulnerability where requesting nonexistent URLs causes the server to reveal real pathnames in error messages or responses. This path disclosure can aid attackers in mapping server directory structures for further exploitation.

MitigationUpgrade from the legacy CERN httpd server to a modern HTTP server (such as Apache HTTP Server or nginx) with proper error handling configured to suppress path disclosure, or implement custom error pages that mask server paths.

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
Cern HttpdWeb server / proxy
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
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 checks

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

  1. Verify CERN httpd is running
    Check running processes for 'httpd' or 'cern-httpd', or check if port 80 is open and responding to HTTP requests
    Affected if CERN httpd process is running and serving HTTP requests
  2. Confirm CERN httpd version
    Check the installed version by examining the binary, running 'httpd -v' if available, or checking package/installation metadata
    Affected if Version is exactly 3.0 (other versions may not be affected)
  3. Trigger path disclosure with invalid request
    Send an HTTP GET request to a nonexistent page, e.g., GET /nonexistent_file_12345.html HTTP/1.1 to the server
    Affected if The server responds with an error page containing full filesystem paths (e.g., /usr/local/etc/httpd/...) instead of generic error messages
  4. Inspect error message contents
    Examine the HTTP response body and any error pages returned for requested URLs that do not exist
    Affected if Error messages reveal absolute directory paths or server filesystem structure details

A user is affected if CERN httpd version 3.0 is running and error responses to invalid URLs disclose actual server filesystem paths.

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

Upgrade from the legacy CERN httpd server to a modern HTTP server (such as Apache HTTP Server or nginx) with proper error handling configured to suppress path disclosure, or implement custom error pages that mask server paths.

Fix this in Cern Httpd Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2000-0079 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
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