CVE-2002-0224
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 · uneditedThe MSDTC (Microsoft Distributed Transaction Service Coordinator) for Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft IIS 5.0 and SQL Server 6.5 through SQL 2000 0.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash or hang) via malformed (random) input.
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 confidenceThe MSDTC (Microsoft Distributed Transaction Service Coordinator) service in Windows 2000, IIS 5.0, and SQL Server 6.5-2000 contains a vulnerability where malformed or random input sent remotely can cause the service to crash or hang, resulting in denial of 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= 5.0= 6.5= 7.0= 2000all versionsCVSS 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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Verify Windows versionRun 'winver' or check system properties to confirm the Windows version. This vulnerability affects Windows 2000 specifically.Affected if The system is running any version of Windows 2000 (Windows 2000 Professional, Server, Advanced Server, Datacenter Server).
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Check if MSDTC service is runningOpen Services console (services.msc) or run 'net start' command to see if 'Distributed Transaction Coordinator' (MSDTC) service is currently running.Affected if MSDTC service is running and exposed to network (remote DoS requires MSDTC to be accessible).
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Check for IIS 5.0 installationRun 'inetmgr' to open IIS Manager, or check for the presence of C:\inetpub directory and IIS metabase. Alternatively, check Windows Components in Add/Remove Programs for IIS installation.Affected if IIS 5.0 is installed on the system (IIS 5.0 is included with Windows 2000).
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Check for SQL Server installation and versionCheck for SQL Server instances by looking in Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server, or run 'sqlcmd -S localhost' to test connectivity, or check SQL Server service in Services console.Affected if SQL Server 6.5, 7.0, or 2000 is installed and running with MSDTC integration enabled.
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Verify MSDTC network exposureCheck if MSDTC listener is bound to network interfaces by reviewing DCOM settings (dcomcnfg) or checking for listening port 3372 (default MSDTC port). Use 'netstat -an | findstr 3372' to check.Affected if MSDTC is listening on network interfaces and accessible remotely, making it exploitable from the network.
The environment is affected if running Windows 2000 with MSDTC service enabled and exposed to the network, especially with IIS 5.0 or SQL Server 6.5/7.0/2000 installed.
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 dataGiven that Windows 2000 and SQL Server 6.5/2000 are end-of-life, the recommended remediation is to migrate away from these systems. If they must remain in service, disable MSDTC if not required or apply any available legacy Microsoft updates.
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- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-0224 — 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-2002-0224 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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