dbcve.org
Windows 2000Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2005-0059

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Buffer overflow in the Message Queuing component of Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP SP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted message.

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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) component allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted MSMQ messages. Affected systems include Windows 2000 and Windows XP SP1.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability; for systems that cannot be patched, disable the Message Queuing service or implement network-level filtering to block external MSMQ traffic.

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
Windows 2000Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 98Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 98seOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify if Message Queuing (MSMQ) is installed
    Open Services (services.msc) and look for 'Message Queuing' in the list of services, or run 'sc query' to enumerate installed services
    Affected if Message Queuing is present in the list of installed services
  2. Check if the MSMQ service is running
    Run 'sc query MSMQ' or view the Status column in Services for the Message Queuing service
    Affected if The service shows a status of Running
  3. Determine the Windows version
    Run 'winver' or check System Properties to identify the exact Windows version and service pack
    Affected if The system is Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows 98se, or Windows XP (any version)
  4. Check for security updates related to MSMQ
    Open Add or Remove Programs and view the list of installed updates, or use 'wmic qfe list' to enumerate installed hotfixes
    Affected if No security updates addressing CVE-2005-0059 are installed (compare against known patches for this vulnerability)

A system is affected if it runs an unpatched Windows 2000, 98, 98se, or XP with Message Queuing installed and the MSMQ service is running.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for this vulnerability; for systems that cannot be patched, disable the Message Queuing service or implement network-level filtering to block external MSMQ traffic.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows XP SP2 or later; Windows 2000 SP4 with MS05-017 applied; or migrate to Windows 7/10/11 for all legacy systems

  1. Identify all systems running Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows 98se, or Windows XP that have the Message Queuing (MSMQ) component enabled
  2. For Windows XP systems: Upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later, which includes the MS05-017 security update that patches this vulnerability
  3. For Windows 2000 systems: Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-017 (if available for your specific SP level) or upgrade to a supported Windows version
  4. For Windows 98/98se systems: These operating systems are end-of-life and received no patch for this vulnerability; migrate to a supported Windows version
  5. After patching/upgrade, verify the Message Queuing service is properly secured or disabled if not needed
Caveat Windows 2000 and Windows 98/98se are end-of-life with no security support; Windows XP is also end-of-life. Upgrading to modern Windows may require application compatibility testing and potential hardware upgrades.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 2000 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,730
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-0059 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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