CVE-2004-0569
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 · uneditedThe RPC Runtime Library for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 allows remote attackers to read active memory or cause a denial of service (system crash) via a malicious message, possibly related to improper length values.
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 confidenceThe RPC Runtime Library in Windows NT 4.0 contains a vulnerability where improper length values in malicious RPC messages can allow remote attackers to read sensitive data from active memory or crash the system via denial of service. The flaw exists in how the RPC runtime processes message parameters without proper bounds checking.
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.
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Confirm Windows NT 4.0 is installedOpen Command Prompt and run 'winver' or right-click 'My Computer' and select 'Properties'. Check the Windows version displayed.Affected if The installed operating system is Windows NT 4.0 (any Service Pack)
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Verify RPC services are runningOpen Control Panel > Services or run 'net start' from command line. Look for 'Remote Procedure Call (RPC)' service and 'RPC Endpoint Mapper' (usually listed as 'Dcom Launch' or 'RPCSS').Affected if RPC services are running and enabled on the system
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Check for exposed RPC endpointsRun 'netstat -an' from command line and look for listening ports, particularly TCP/135 (RPC Endpoint Mapper) and other high-numbered TCP ports that may be RPC endpoints.Affected if The system has open listening ports related to RPC services (TCP 135 or other dynamic RPC ports)
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Identify installed Service Pack levelRun 'winver' or check System Properties. The Service Pack version will be listed (for example, 'Service Pack 6a').Affected if Even with Service Packs applied, NT 4.0 remains vulnerable as the patch for MS04-044 is required
The system is affected if it is running Windows NT 4.0 with RPC services enabled and exposed, regardless of Service Pack level, as this old operating system no longer receives security updates.
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 the Microsoft security patch for this vulnerability (MS04-044) if systems are still running Windows NT 4.0, or migrate to a supported Windows version as NT 4.0 is obsolete and no longer receives security updates.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation40.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0569 — 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-2004-0569 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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