Windows 2000Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2002-1260

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-12-23
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
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
The Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) APIs in Microsoft Virtual Machine (VM) 5.0.3805 and earlier allow remote attackers to bypass security checks and access database contents via an untrusted Java applet.

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

The Microsoft Virtual Machine (VM) 5.0.3805 and earlier contains a flaw in its Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) implementation where untrusted Java applets can bypass sandbox security restrictions and directly access database contents through JDBC APIs, allowing confidential data exposure without proper authentication.

MitigationSince Microsoft VM is deprecated and no longer supported, the recommended remediation is to migrate to a supported Java runtime environment (such as Oracle Java or OpenJDK) and review database access controls to ensure proper authentication is enforced regardless of client-side restrictions.

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 2000Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 2000 Terminal ServicesOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 95Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 98Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 98seOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows MeOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows NtOperating system
Affected:= 4.0
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions

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. Check if Microsoft VM is installed
    Search for msjava.dll or jview.exe in the Windows\System32 directory, or check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Java VM
    Affected if Either file exists or the registry key is present
  2. Determine Microsoft VM version
    Right-click on msjava.dll or jview.exe in Windows\System32, select Properties, and view the Version tab to find the file version
    Affected if File version is 5.0.3805 or earlier
  3. Verify JDBC component presence
    Look for jdbc*.dll files in the Windows\System32 directory or check if the JDBC driver is listed in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Java VM\InstalledClassPath
    Affected if JDBC DLL files exist or JDBC is registered as an installed class path
  4. Confirm Windows version is in affected list
    Run 'winver' or check System Properties to identify the Windows version
    Affected if Running Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98se, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows XP

If Microsoft VM version 5.0.3805 or earlier is installed on an affected Windows version and JDBC components are present, the environment is vulnerable to the sandbox bypass.

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 Microsoft VM is deprecated and no longer supported, the recommended remediation is to migrate to a supported Java runtime environment (such as Oracle Java or OpenJDK) and review database access controls to ensure proper authentication is enforced regardless of client-side restrictions.

Fix this in Windows 2000 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation40.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
72.0 hours of engineering $12,640
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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-2002-1260 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