CVE-2004-0774
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 · uneditedRealNetworks Helix Universal Server 9.0.2 for Linux and 9.0.3 for Windows allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and memory exhaustion) via a POST request with a Content-Length header set to -1.
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 confidenceRealNetworks Helix Universal Server 9.0.x fails to properly validate the Content-Length HTTP header value. When a remote attacker sends a POST request with Content-Length set to -1, the server enters a processing loop that exhausts CPU and memory resources, causing denial of service.
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<= 10.3.1.716<= 9.0.4.958= 9.0.2CVSS 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
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
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 if Helix Universal Server is installedCheck running processes for 'Helix' or 'rmserver' daemons, or look for the server installation directory. On Linux/Unix check /usr/local/HelixServer or similar paths; on Windows check Program Files for RealNetworks directories.Affected if Helix Universal Server, Helix Universal Mobile Server, or Helix Universal Gateway is installed and running
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Determine the installed Helix server versionCheck the server version via its admin interface (typically port 5544), or look for version files in the installation directory. Compare the exact version number to the affected ranges.Affected if Version is 9.0.2, or any version <= 9.0.4.958 for Helix Universal Server; or any version <= 10.3.1.716 for Helix Universal Mobile Server And Gateway
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Verify HTTP POST requests are acceptedSend a test HTTP POST request to the server on the configured HTTP port (default 80/8080). The vulnerability requires the server to process POST requests.Affected if The server accepts and processes HTTP POST requests on any enabled HTTP port
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Inspect HTTP access logs for malformed requestsExamine the server's HTTP access logs for POST requests where Content-Length header is set to -1 or other negative values.Affected if Malformed POST requests with Content-Length: -1 are found in logs and the server version falls within the affected ranges listed above
A user is affected if they are running any version of Helix Universal Server 9.0.2 through 9.0.4.958, or Helix Universal Mobile Server And Gateway up to 10.3.1.716, and the server accepts HTTP POST requests.
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 available vendor patches/upgrades to Helix Universal Server, or implement network-level filtering to block HTTP requests with negative Content-Length values.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0774 — 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-2004-0774 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data