CVE-2004-1135
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 · uneditedMultiple buffer overflows in WS_FTP Server 5.03 2004.10.14 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (service crash) via long (1) SITE, (2) XMKD, (3) MKD, and (4) RNFR commands.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerabilities in WS_FTP Server 5.03 allow remote attackers to crash the FTP service by sending overly long SITE, XMKD, MKD, or RNFR commands.
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= 5.03CVSS 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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Confirm WS_FTP Server is installedCheck for WS_FTP Server installation: look for 'WS_FTP Server' in Windows Services, check Program Files for Ipswitch folder, or query registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Ipswitch\WS_FTPAffected if WS_FTP Server is not installed on the system
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Identify installed WS_FTP Server versionCheck the version of the WS_FTP Server service or executable. Common locations: C:\Program Files\Ipswitch\WS_FTP\Server\WSFTPSVR.exe or through the Windows Services Properties. Right-click the executable and view Properties > Details for version information.Affected if The installed version is exactly 5.03
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Verify FTP service is running and exposedCheck if the WS_FTP Server service is running (services.msc) and if port 21/FTP is listening (run 'netstat -an | findstr :21'). Confirm the server accepts incoming FTP connections.Affected if The FTP service is running and accessible from the network or internet
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Check for command length filteringReview any network perimeter devices (firewall, IDS/IPS) between the FTP server and untrusted networks to see if there are rules filtering or blocking excessively long FTP commands (SITE, XMKD, MKD, RNFR).Affected if No command length restrictions exist and the server is exposed to untrusted users
You are affected if WS_FTP Server version 5.03 is installed and the FTP service is running and accessible without command length filtering between the server and potential attackers.
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 dataUpgrade WS_FTP Server to a patched version beyond 5.03, or implement command length restrictions at the network perimeter to block excessively long FTP commands.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-1135 — 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-2004-1135 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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