Internet ExplorerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2004-0214

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2004-11-03

Mitigation only

No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.

See remediation →

100/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

Buffer overflow in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Explorer on Windows XP SP1, WIndows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows Me may allow remote malicious servers to cause a denial of service (application crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via long share names, as demonstrated using Samba.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Buffer overflow in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer when handling long Samba share names. When a user visits a malicious remote server or accesses a crafted UNC path, the overly long share name triggers a buffer overflow that can crash the browser/explorer and potentially allow arbitrary code execution. Affects Windows XP SP1, Windows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows Me.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability; alternatively, disable automatic handling of UNC paths or restrict browsing to untrusted Samba servers. Since this affects legacy Windows versions (some now end-of-life), consider upgrading affected systems to supported Windows versions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Internet ExplorerApplication

Affected:= 6.0.2900

Windows 2000Operating system

Affected:all versions

Windows 98Operating system

Affected:all versions

Windows MeOperating system

Affected:all versions

Windows XpOperating system

Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Authentication: None
Confidentiality: Complete
Integrity: Complete
Availability: Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Identify Windows version

Run 'winver' from command prompt or check System Properties to see the Windows version

Affected if The system is Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows Me, or any version of Windows XP (including SP1)
Identify Internet Explorer version

Open IE, go to Help > About Internet Explorer, or check the version in registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version

Affected if Internet Explorer version is 6.0.2900 specifically
Confirm UNC path handling is enabled

Check if the system can access network shares by attempting to access \\localhost\c$ or reviewing whether the SMB/Windows Explorer shell is configured to handle UNC paths

Affected if The system has the ability to process UNC paths, which is default behavior in affected Windows versions
Verify Explorer shell is in use

Confirm that Windows Explorer (not command prompt only) is used, as the vulnerability affects the Explorer shell when rendering UNC paths

Affected if Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer is used to browse network locations

The system is affected if it runs any version of Windows 2000, 98, Me, or XP with Internet Explorer 6.0.2900 (or Windows Explorer) and has the ability to process UNC/Samba share paths, as the buffer overflow triggers when handling overly long share names.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

From vendor data

Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime

Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability; alternatively, disable automatic handling of UNC paths or restrict browsing to untrusted Samba servers. Since this affects legacy Windows versions (some now end-of-life), consider upgrading affected systems to supported Windows versions.

Fix this in Internet Explorer Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation4.0 h
Implementation8.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

18.0 hours of engineering $3,200

Get help mitigating

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 locally

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2004-0214 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2004-0214?

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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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

At a glance

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 47.0%

Affects: Internet Explorer

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Internet Explorer 18 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $3,200

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2004-0214 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References