Windows Media PlayerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2002-0373

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-07-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Device Manager (WMDM) Service in Microsoft Windows Media Player 7.1 on Windows 2000 systems allows local users to obtain LocalSystem rights via a program that calls the WMDM service to connect to an invalid local storage device, aka "Privilege Elevation through Windows Media Device Manager Service".

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

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Media Device Manager (WMDM) service in WMP 7.1 on Windows 2000. The WMDM service runs with LocalSystem privileges, and a local user can elevate to LocalSystem by calling the service with an invalid local storage device.

MitigationSince Windows 2000 is end-of-life, the recommended remediation is to upgrade to a supported Windows version. If仍在运行Windows 2000,则应禁用WMDM服务或部署控件以防止本地非特权用户启动该服务。

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 PlayerApplication
Affected:= 7.1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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. Check the operating system version
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winver' or check System Properties to confirm if the system is Windows 2000
    Affected if The operating system is Windows 2000 (any version)
  2. Check the Windows Media Player version
    Open WMP 7.1, go to Help > About Windows Media Player, or check the installed programs list to verify version 7.1 is installed
    Affected if Windows Media Player version 7.1 is installed on the system
  3. Check if the WMDM service exists and is running
    Open Services (services.msc) and look for 'Windows Media Device Manager' service, or run 'net start' in Command Prompt to list running services
    Affected if The WMDM service is present and running on the system
  4. Check the service account configuration
    In Services, double-click the Windows Media Device Manager service and check the 'Log On As' setting to see if it runs as LocalSystem account
    Affected if The WMDM service is configured to run under the LocalSystem account

A system is affected if it is running Windows 2000 with Windows Media Player 7.1 installed and the WMDM service is enabled and running under LocalSystem privileges.

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

Since Windows 2000 is end-of-life, the recommended remediation is to upgrade to a supported Windows version. If仍在运行Windows 2000,则应禁用WMDM服务或部署控件以防止本地非特权用户启动该服务。

Fix this in Windows Media Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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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-2002-0373 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