CVE-2004-0899
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 DHCP Server service for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server and Terminal Server Edition, with DHCP logging enabled, does not properly validate the length of certain messages, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a malformed DHCP message, aka "Logging Vulnerability."
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 confidenceThe DHCP Server service on Windows NT 4.0 Server and Terminal Server Edition with DHCP logging enabled does not properly validate the length of certain DHCP messages, allowing remote attackers to crash the service via malformed DHCP 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= 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
- 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 the Windows versionRun 'winver' or check System Properties to confirm the exact Windows version and buildAffected if Version is not Windows NT 4.0 Server or Terminal Server Edition (systems running other versions are not affected)
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Confirm DHCP Server service is installedCheck if the DHCP Server service exists in the system services list via Control Panel or registry at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DHCPServerAffected if The DHCP Server service is not present on the system (the vulnerability only applies when this service is installed)
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Determine if DHCP Server service is runningCheck the status of the DHCP Server service via Services applet or command 'net start' outputAffected if The service is not running (an inactive service would not process the malformed packets) but note that a running service with logging enabled is the vulnerable state
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Verify DHCP logging configurationExamine the DHCP Server logging settings - typically configured in the DHCP Server snap-in or registry under the DHCP Server service parametersAffected if DHCP logging is enabled (this is the critical condition - the vulnerability requires logging to be turned on)
The system is affected only if it is Windows NT 4.0 Server or Terminal Server Edition with the DHCP Server service installed, running, and DHCP logging enabled.
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 dataGiven Windows NT 4.0 is end-of-life and no longer receives security updates, the primary remediation is to migrate to a supported Windows server version; if immediate mitigation is required, disabling DHCP logging may reduce the attack surface.
- 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-2004-0899 — 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-2004-0899 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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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