Application ServerApplication · Oracle

CVE-2000-0169

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2000-03-15

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

NVD · unedited

Batch files in the Oracle web listener ows-bin directory allow remote attackers to execute commands via a malformed URL that includes '?&'.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Oracle Web Listener (OWS) contains a vulnerability in its ows-bin directory where malformed URLs containing '?&' are improperly processed, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via batch files. The '?&' sequence appears to bypass path validation or input sanitization, enabling path traversal or command injection into executable batch scripts.

MitigationRemove or disable the ows-bin directory if not required, or migrate from the deprecated Oracle Web Listener to a supported Oracle HTTP Server or other modern web server solution.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Application ServerApplication

Affected:= 4.0

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

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

Identify Oracle Web Listener installation

Look for Oracle Web Listener (ows.exe) or Oracle Application Server 4.0 installation directories on the system. Check common Oracle installation paths such as /orawin or C:\oracle\orawin on Windows, or /opt/oracle on Unix/Linux systems.

Affected if Oracle Web Listener or Oracle Application Server 4.0 is present on the system
Locate the ows-bin directory

Search for a directory named 'ows-bin' within the Oracle web listener installation path. This directory typically contains executable batch scripts (.bat or .cmd files) that may be vulnerable.

Affected if The ows-bin directory exists within the Oracle web listener installation
Check if ows-bin is web-exposed

Attempt to access the ows-bin directory via HTTP/HTTPS using the web server's base URL (for example, http://yourserver/ows-bin/). A successful connection indicates the directory is web-accessible.

Affected if The ows-bin directory responds to HTTP requests and is accessible via the web server
Verify Oracle Application Server version

Check the installed version of Oracle Application Server or Oracle Web Listener. Look for version information in the Oracle installation, typically found in registry (Windows) or version files within the Oracle home directory.

Affected if The installed version is Oracle Application Server 4.0 specifically, or Oracle Web Listener corresponding to that release
Confirm URL parsing behavior

Test URL parsing by sending a request with the '?&' sequence to the ows-bin directory (for example, http://server/ows-bin/script.bat?&). Observe if the request is processed differently than a normal request, indicating the vulnerability is present.

Affected if URLs containing '?&' are processed without proper sanitization when accessing ows-bin resources

A user is affected if Oracle Application Server 4.0 or Oracle Web Listener is installed, the ows-bin directory exists and is web-accessible, and malformed URLs with '?&' are not rejected by the server's input validation.

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

Remediation

From vendor data

Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime

Mitigation

Remove or disable the ows-bin directory if not required, or migrate from the deprecated Oracle Web Listener to a supported Oracle HTTP Server or other modern web server solution.

Fix this in Application Server Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation8.0 h
Implementation24.0 h
Testing12.0 h
Review / QA4.0 h

48.0 hours of engineering $8,440

Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $13,504.

Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2000-0169 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2000-0169?

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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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

At a glance

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 7.5 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 26.7%

Affects: Application Server

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Application Server 48 hrs · Severe

Typical engagement from $8,440

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2000-0169 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References