CVE-2004-0724
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 Half-Life engine before July 7 2004 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (server or client crash) via an empty fragmented packet.
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 Half-Life engine before July 7 2004 contains a vulnerability where remote attackers can send empty fragmented packets to cause a denial of service, crashing either the game server or connected clients. The vulnerability is in the packet handling logic for fragmented packets.
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= 1.1.0.4= 1.1.0.8= 1.1.0.9= 1.1.1.0= 3.1= 3.1.0.4= 3.1.0.5= 3.1.0.6= 3.1.0.7= 3.1.0.8= 3.1.0.9= 3.1.1.0= 3.1.1.1c1= 3.1.1.1d= 3.1.1.1e= 3.1.3CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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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Identify Half-Life engine versionLaunch the Half-Life client or dedicated server binary with the -version or -v parameter, or check the version displayed in the console at startup. For dedicated servers, check the hlds_run or srcds console output.Affected if The displayed version matches any of: 1.1.0.4, 1.1.0.8, 1.1.0.9, 1.1.1.0 for client, or 3.1, 3.1.0.4, 3.1.0.5, 3.1.0.6, 3.1.0.7, 3.1.0.8, 3.1.0.9, 3.1.1.0, 3.1.1.1c1, 3.1.1.1d, 3.1.1.1e, 3.1.3 for dedicated server.
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Check engine binary file versionLocate the main executable (hl.exe for client, hlds.exe for dedicated server) and view its file properties to see the Product Version field.Affected if The file properties show a version matching any of the affected versions listed above.
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Determine if running as server or clientConfirm whether the installation is a client instance or a dedicated server by checking if hlds.exe, srcds.exe, or hlds_run is the running process.Affected if Both client and server installations are affected; no distinction needed for detection.
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Check build date of engine filesView the creation or modification date of the core engine files such as hw.dll, sw.dll, or the main server executable.Affected if The engine files were created or last updated before July 7 2004, indicating an unpatched version.
You are affected if your Half-Life engine version matches any of the listed affected versions or if your engine files predate the July 7 2004 patch date.
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 dataUpdate the Half-Life engine to a version released after July 7 2004, which contains the patch for this vulnerability. If using legacy/modified engine branches, ensure packet validation is implemented to reject empty fragmented packets.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0724 — 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-2004-0724 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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