HTTP ServerWeb server / proxy · Apache
CVE-2003-0017
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 · uneditedApache 2.0 before 2.0.44 on Windows platforms allows remote attackers to obtain certain files via an HTTP request that ends in certain illegal characters such as ">", which causes a different filename to be processed and served.
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 confidenceApache 2.0 versions prior to 2.0.44 on Windows platforms contain a filename processing vulnerability where HTTP requests ending in illegal characters (such as '>') cause Apache to process and serve a different file than requested, potentially exposing sensitive files outside the document root.
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
HTTP ServerWeb server / proxy
= 2.0.36= 2.0.37= 2.0.38= 2.0.39= 2.0.40= 2.0.41= 2.0.42= 2.0.43CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
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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Verify Apache is running on WindowsCheck the operating system where Apache is installed. On Windows, run 'systeminfo | findstr /C:OS' or check System Properties. On Linux/Unix, this vulnerability does not apply.Affected if The server is running Apache on Windows - the flaw only exists in Windows implementations of the affected versions.
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Determine the installed Apache versionRun 'httpd -v' (or 'apache2 -v' on some systems) from the Apache bin directory, or check the server response header for 'Server: Apache/2.0.xx'. Alternatively, check the version.dll or Apache files in the installation directory.Affected if The installed version is 2.0.36, 2.0.37, 2.0.38, 2.0.39, 2.0.40, 2.0.41, 2.0.42, or 2.0.43.
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Confirm the vulnerability trigger conditionSend a test HTTP request to the server with an illegal character at the end of the request path, such as 'GET /index.html> HTTP/1.1' or 'GET /page.html>'. Compare the response to a normal request for the same resource.Affected if The response differs from the expected file content, or the server serves a different file than requested when the request path ends with illegal characters like '>'.
You are affected if you are running Apache 2.0 versions 2.0.36 through 2.0.43 on a Windows server and requests with illegal characters (like '>') in the URL path produce unexpected file responses.
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 dataUpgrade Apache to version 2.0.44 or later, or implement web application firewall/URL filtering rules to reject requests containing illegal characters in the request path.
Fix this in HTTP Server
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0017 — 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-2003-0017 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
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