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Data Access ComponentsApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2002-1142

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-11-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
High EPSS 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
Heap-based buffer overflow in the Remote Data Services (RDS) component of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.1 through 2.6, and Internet Explorer 5.01 through 6.0, allows remote attackers to execute code via a malformed HTTP request to the Data Stub.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Remote Data Services (RDS) component allows remote code execution via malformed HTTP requests to the Data Stub. Affects MDAC versions 2.1-2.6 and Internet Explorer 5.01-6.0.

MitigationUpdate or patch the affected MDAC/IE installation to a patched version, or disable/remove the RDS component if not required. Given the age of these products (2002), consider migrating to supported versions or removing deprecated components entirely.

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 Access ComponentsApplication
Affected:= 2.1= 2.5= 2.6
IeApplication
Affected:= 6.0
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:= 5.0.1= 5.5= 6.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed MDAC version
    Check the Windows registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DataAccess for the Version value. On the command line, run: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DataAccess' /v Version
    Affected if The reported version is 2.1, 2.5, or 2.6 (exact matches to the affected versions listed)
  2. Identify installed Internet Explorer version
    Check the IE version by opening IE, going to Help > About, or run: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer' /v Version
    Affected if The version matches 5.0.1, 5.5, or 6.0 (exact matches to the affected versions listed)
  3. Confirm RDS Data Stub component presence
    Check if the Remote Data Services component is installed. Look for msadco.dll or msadcs.dll in the system (typically in system32 directory) or check for RDS-related registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DataAccess\RDS
    Affected if The RDS DLL files (msadco.dll, msadcs.dll) are present on the system, indicating the vulnerable component is installed
  4. Verify if IIS has RDS enabled or configured
    Check IIS metabase or script mappings for .htx and .ida extensions which are associated with RDS Data Stub handler. In IIS 5.0/5.1, this can be checked via the IIS Manager or by examining the script map configuration
    Affected if The RDS Data Stub handler is mapped in IIS, allowing HTTP requests to reach the vulnerable component
  5. Check for exposed RDS HTTP endpoints
    Examine if any web servers have the /msadc/ virtual directory or Msadc.dll exposed. Look for msadcs.dll on the system and verify if it is accessible via HTTP (commonly at /msadc/msadcs.dll or similar paths)
    Affected if The RDS Data Stub (msadcs.dll) is accessible over HTTP on the local network or internet, enabling remote exploitation

A system is affected if it runs any combination of MDAC versions 2.1, 2.5, or 2.6, or IE versions 5.0.1, 5.5, or 6.0, AND has the RDS component installed and network-accessible.

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

Update or patch the affected MDAC/IE installation to a patched version, or disable/remove the RDS component if not required. Given the age of these products (2002), consider migrating to supported versions or removing deprecated components entirely.

Fix this in Data Access Components Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2002-1142 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