Windows Media ServicesApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2000-0211

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2000-02-23
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
The Windows Media server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a series of client handshake packets that are sent in an improper sequence, aka the "Misordered Windows Media Services Handshake" 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

Windows Media Services contains a denial of service vulnerability where remote attackers can cause the server to become unresponsive by sending client handshake packets in an improper sequence. The server fails to handle misordered handshake packets correctly, leading to a service disruption.

MitigationBlock external access to Windows Media Services ports (typically UDP/TCP 1755 and related ports) at the network perimeter using firewall rules. If the service is not required, disable it entirely. Apply any available Microsoft patches for Windows Media Services.

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
Windows Media ServicesApplication
Affected:= 4.0= 4.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Verify if Windows Media Services is installed
    Check the system for presence of Windows Media Services component through Control Panel Add/Remove Programs, or check for the Windows Media Services service in Services.msc
    Affected if Windows Media Services appears in installed programs or services list
  2. Determine the installed version of Windows Media Services
    Open Windows Media Services administrator tool (wmadmx.exe) or check the version through the service properties. The version is displayed as 4.x
    Affected if The version is exactly 4.0 or 4.1 (these are the only affected versions)
  3. Confirm if the service is currently running
    Open Services.msc and check the status of Windows Media Services, or run 'net start' to list running services
    Affected if The Windows Media Services service shows as Running or Started
  4. Check if Windows Media Services is listening on network ports
    Use netstat -an to check if ports 1755 (MSDP) and related media distribution ports are in LISTENING state. Also check for UDP bindings on these ports
    Affected if The server is listening on UDP/TCP port 1755 or associated Windows Media Services ports
  5. Verify network exposure of the service
    Review firewall rules or binding configuration to determine if the Windows Media Services ports are accessible from external network addresses rather than only localhost
    Affected if Port 1755 or related Windows Media Services ports are accessible from untrusted network interfaces

A system is affected if it is running Windows Media Services version 4.0 or 4.1 with the service exposed to network connections, allowing remote attackers to send handshake packets.

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

Block external access to Windows Media Services ports (typically UDP/TCP 1755 and related ports) at the network perimeter using firewall rules. If the service is not required, disable it entirely. Apply any available Microsoft patches for Windows Media Services.

Fix this in Windows Media Services Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2000-0211 — 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-2000-0211 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
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