CVE-2002-1138
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 · uneditedMicrosoft SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, including Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) 1.0 and Microsoft Desktop Engine (MSDE) 2000, writes output files for scheduled jobs under its own privileges instead of the entity that launched it, which allows attackers to overwrite system files, aka "Flaw in Output File Handling for Scheduled Jobs."
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 confidenceMicrosoft SQL Server 7.0/2000 and MSDE write output files for scheduled jobs using the database engine's own privileges rather than those of the user who scheduled the job, enabling authenticated attackers to overwrite arbitrary system files with the SQL Server service account's elevated permissions.
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= 1.0= 2000= 7.0= 2000CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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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Identify SQL Server or MSDE installationCheck registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\Setup or look for sqlservr.exe in Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\BinnAffected if Version is 7.0 or 2000, or MSDE version 1.0 or 2000
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Enumerate scheduled SQL Server jobs with output filesQuery the msdb database: SELECT job_id, name, output_file_name FROM msdb..sysjobs WHERE output_file_name IS NOT NULLAffected if Any jobs have an output_file_name configured pointing to a file path
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Verify output file path locationsFor each job with output_file_name, inspect the path to determine if it resides in a controlled directory or allows path traversalAffected if Output file path is writable by the SQL Server service account and accessible from user-specified locations
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Check SQL Server service account privilegesReview the service account running SQL Server service via Services control panel or sc qc mssqlserverAffected if Service account has elevated filesystem or admin privileges beyond minimal requirements
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Audit filesystem permissions on output directoriesUse icacls or Windows Explorer to check permissions on directories where SQL jobs write output filesAffected if SQL Server service account has write permissions to directories outside designated secure paths
Environment is affected if SQL Server 7.0/2000 or MSDE is running with scheduled jobs that write output files, and the SQL Server service account has elevated privileges that could be exploited to overwrite arbitrary files.
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 dataReview all scheduled job output file paths and restrict filesystem permissions to prevent writes outside designated directories; apply any available SQL Server patches and ensure SQL Server runs with minimal required privileges.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-1138 — 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-2002-1138 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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