CVE-2004-0900
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 does not properly validate the length of certain messages, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed DHCP message, aka the "DHCP Request 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 in Windows NT 4.0 Server and Terminal Server Edition fails to properly validate the length field in certain DHCP messages. This allows remote attackers to send malformed DHCP packets that can trigger a buffer overflow, leading to arbitrary code execution with SYSTEM privileges.
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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/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 the operating system versionRun 'winmsd' or check System Properties to confirm the OS is Windows NT 4.0 Server or Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition. Use 'ver' command at command prompt which will show 'Windows NT Version 4.0'.Affected if The system is running any edition of Windows NT 4.0 (Server or Terminal Server Edition).
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Determine if the DHCP Server service is installedOpen Control Panel, go to Services, or run 'net start' at command prompt to list all running services. Look for 'DHCP Server' or 'Microsoft DHCP Server' in the list.Affected if The DHCP Server service is installed and present in the services list.
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Check if the DHCP Server service is runningRun 'net start' or check the Services control panel applet. Look for the DHCP Server service status - if it shows 'Started' or is running, the service is active.Affected if The DHCP Server service is currently running (even if not actively serving IPs at the moment).
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Verify DHCP server is listening on the networkRun 'netstat -an' or use a network sniffer to check if UDP port 67 is listening. The command 'netstat -an | findstr :67' will show if port 67 is bound.Affected if The system is listening on UDP port 67, indicating the DHCP service is bound to the network interface.
You are affected if you are running Windows NT 4.0 Server or Terminal Server Edition with the DHCP Server service installed and running, as the buffer overflow vulnerability in the DHCP message length validation can be triggered by malformed DHCP packets sent to your network.
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 relevant Microsoft patch if available (KB884020). For end-of-life Windows NT 4.0 systems, migrate to supported operating systems or implement strict network segmentation to isolate DHCP services and restrict unauthorized DHCP traffic at network boundaries.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0900 — 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-2004-0900 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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