CVE-2004-0197
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in Microsoft Jet Database Engine 4.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a specially-crafted database query.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Jet Database Engine 4.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code through specially-crafted database queries. The flaw enables attackers to overwrite memory boundaries and inject malicious code.
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= 4.0CVSS 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.
-
Confirm Jet Database Engine is installedSearch for msjet40.dll or msjetol40.dll in the Windows\System32 directory and other Jet-related DLLs. Use 'dir /s C:\msjet40.dll' or check file properties.Affected if The Jet DLL files (msjet40.dll, msjetol40.dll) exist on the system, indicating Jet 4.0 is present.
-
Check the Jet database engine file versionRight-click the msjet40.dll file in Windows\System32, select Properties, and view the Version tab to see the file version. Alternatively, use 'powershell (Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\msjet40.dll).VersionInfo'Affected if The file version is 4.0.x.x (where x is any sub-version), confirming Jet version 4.0 is installed.
-
Identify applications using Jet database engineCheck for Microsoft Access 2000/2002/2003, Visual Basic 6 applications, or other programs that rely on Jet databases. Check Add/Remove Programs or search for .mdb files created by Access/Jet.Affected if Applications that utilize Jet 4.0 databases are installed or used on the system.
-
Verify database query handling is exposedDetermine if the system accepts or processes database queries from untrusted sources. Check any web applications, file parsers, or services that open .mdb files or accept SQL-like input that gets processed by Jet.Affected if Applications or services can pass specially-crafted database queries to the Jet engine, enabling the buffer overflow to trigger.
If Microsoft Jet Database Engine version 4.0 is present and any application or service can feed it database queries, the system is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataApply Microsoft security patches for Jet Database Engine, keep Windows systems updated, and implement input validation on database query parameters.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0197 — 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-2004-0197 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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