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Data EngineApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2002-0721

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-09-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 installs with weak permissions for extended stored procedures that are associated with helper functions, which could allow unprivileged users, and possibly remote attackers, to run stored procedures with administrator privileges via (1) xp_execresultset, (2) xp_printstatements, or (3) xp_displayparamstmt.

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

This vulnerability involves weak permissions on three extended stored procedures (xp_execresultset, xp_printstatements, xp_displayparamstmt) in Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and 2000. Unprivileged users can execute these procedures to run other stored procedures with administrator or DBO privileges, effectively escalating their permissions on the database system.

MitigationRevoke or restrict execute permissions on the affected extended stored procedures (xp_execresultset, xp_printstatements, xp_displayparamstmt) from the public role and unprivileged users, and apply the relevant Microsoft security patch for SQL Server.

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
Data EngineApplication
Affected:= 1.0= 2000
Sql ServerApplication
Affected:= 7.0= 2000

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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. Identify SQL Server version
    Run 'SELECT @@VERSION' or check SQL Server service properties to confirm if the version is 7.0 or 2000
    Affected if The installed version is Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 or 2000, or Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) 1.0 or 2000
  2. Verify vulnerable extended stored procedures exist
    Query the master database: SELECT name FROM sysobjects WHERE name IN ('xp_execresultset', 'xp_printstatements', 'xp_displayparamstmt') AND xtype = 'X'
    Affected if Any of these three extended stored procedures (xp_execresultset, xp_printstatements, xp_displayparamstmt) are present in the master database
  3. Check execute permissions on xp_execresultset
    Run: USE master; SELECT dp.name AS principal, dp.type_desc, perm.permission_name, perm.state_desc FROM sys.database_permissions perm JOIN sys.database_principals dp ON perm.grantee_principal_id = dp.principal_id WHERE perm.major_id = OBJECT_ID('xp_execresultset')
    Affected if The public role or unprivileged users have EXECUTE permission granted on xp_execresultset
  4. Check execute permissions on xp_printstatements
    Run: USE master; SELECT dp.name AS principal, dp.type_desc, perm.permission_name, perm.state_desc FROM sys.database_permissions perm JOIN sys.database_principals dp ON perm.grantee_principal_id = dp.principal_id WHERE perm.major_id = OBJECT_ID('xp_printstatements')
    Affected if The public role or unprivileged users have EXECUTE permission granted on xp_printstatements
  5. Check execute permissions on xp_displayparamstmt
    Run: USE master; SELECT dp.name AS principal, dp.type_desc, perm.permission_name, perm.state_desc FROM sys.database_permissions perm JOIN sys.database_principals dp ON perm.grantee_principal_id = dp.principal_id WHERE perm.major_id = OBJECT_ID('xp_displayparamstmt')
    Affected if The public role or unprivileged users have EXECUTE permission granted on xp_displayparamstmt

You are affected if you run SQL Server 7.0 or 2000 (or MSDE 1.0 or 2000) AND any of the three vulnerable extended stored procedures exist with execute permissions granted to the public role or unprivileged users.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Revoke or restrict execute permissions on the affected extended stored procedures (xp_execresultset, xp_printstatements, xp_displayparamstmt) from the public role and unprivileged users, and apply the relevant Microsoft security patch for SQL Server.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 or later / Azure SQL Database (SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 are discontinued with no security patches available)

  1. 1. Assess current SQL Server environment to confirm version (7.0 or 2000) and identify all instances using the vulnerable extended stored procedures (xp_execresultset, xp_printstatements, xp_displayparamstmt).
  2. 2. Plan migration to a supported Microsoft SQL Server version (such as SQL Server 2019 or Azure SQL Database) as SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 are discontinued products with no further security updates.
  3. 3. Before migration, revoke execute permissions from unprivileged users on the vulnerable extended stored procedures as a temporary mitigation: REVOKE EXECUTE ON xp_execresultset FROM public; REVOKE EXECUTE ON xp_printstatements FROM public; REVOKE EXECUTE ON xp_displayparamstmt FROM public.
  4. 4. Perform comprehensive testing of applications against the new SQL Server version.
  5. 5. Execute production migration to the supported SQL Server version.
  6. 6. Apply least-privilege permissions to all extended stored procedures in the new environment.
Caveat Applications may require modifications for compatibility with newer SQL Server version; legacy extended stored procedures may behave differently or be deprecated in modern versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Data Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2002-0721 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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