CVE-2005-1980
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 · uneditedDistributed Transaction Controller in Microsoft Windows allows remote servers to cause a denial of service (MSDTC service hang) via a crafted Transaction Internet Protocol (TIP) message that causes DTC to repeatedly connect to a target IP and port number after an error occurs, aka the "Distributed TIP 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 Microsoft Distributed Transaction Controller (MSDTC) has a vulnerability where a remote attacker can send a crafted Transaction Internet Protocol (TIP) message causing the MSDTC service to hang. The specific flaw causes DTC to enter a loop repeatedly attempting to connect to a target IP and port after an error occurs, resulting in 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 dataall versions= 64-bit= itanium= r2= sp1all versionsCVSS 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 Windows version and Service PackRun 'winver' or check System Properties to determine Windows version. For Windows 2003 Server, also verify if it is 64-bit, Itanium, R2, or SP1.Affected if Version is Windows 2000 (any), Windows XP (any), or Windows 2003 Server 64-bit/Itanium/R2/SP1 - these are in the affected product list
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Verify MSDTC service is runningOpen Services console (services.msc) and locate 'Distributed Transaction Coordinator', or run command 'sc query msdtc' to check service status.Affected if MSDTC service is running - the vulnerability only affects systems where this service is active
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Confirm MSDTC is enabledOpen Component Services (dcomcnfg), navigate to My Computer > Distributed Transaction Coordinator, or check registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\MSDTC for configuration.Affected if MSDTC is enabled and configured on the system, not disabled
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Check network exposure of TIP portsRun 'netstat -an | findstr "3372 3373"' to see if Transaction Internet Protocol ports 3372-3373 are listening, or review firewall inbound rules for these ports.Affected if TIP ports 3372-3373 are open and accessible from network (the attack vector requires these ports to be reachable)
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Verify MS05-018 patch is installedCheck Add/Remove Programs for security update KB894169, or run 'wmic qfe list' and search for MS05-018 in the output.Affected if Security patch MS05-018 (KB894169) has NOT been installed - unpatched systems remain vulnerable
System is affected if running a vulnerable Windows version with MSDTC enabled/running and TIP ports accessible, and the MS05-018 security patch has not been applied.
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 security patch (MS05-018) or disable MSDTC if not required. Block TIP ports (ports 3372-3373) at the firewall to prevent external attackers from sending malicious TIP messages.
- 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-2005-1980 — 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-2005-1980 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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