CVE-2008-0074
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 through 7.0 allows local users to gain privileges via unknown vectors related to file change notifications in the TPRoot, NNTPFile\Root, or WWWRoot folders.
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 · low confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft IIS 5.0 through 7.0 allows local users to gain elevated privileges via unspecified vectors related to file change notifications in TPRoot, NNTPFile\Root, or WWWRoot folders. The vulnerability leverages how IIS handles file system change notifications in these specific directories.
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= 6.0= 5.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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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Verify IIS version is in affected rangeCheck the IIS version by running 'iisversion' or checking the registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W3SVC\Parameters\MajorVersion. IIS 5.0 corresponds to version 5, IIS 6.0 to version 6, IIS 7.0 to version 7.Affected if The installed version is 5.0, 6.0, or 7.0
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Confirm IIS is installed and runningCheck if the IIS service (W3SVC) exists and is running by running 'sc query W3SVC' or checking Services console.Affected if IIS is installed and running as a service
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Identify existence of IIS root directoriesLocate the TPRoot, NNTPFile\Root, and WWWRoot directories. WWWRoot typically exists at %SystemRoot%\Inetpub\wwwroot. Check for TPRoot and NNTPFile\Root in the Inetpub folder or where IIS is installed.Affected if Any of these directories (TPRoot, NNTPFile\Root, WWWRoot) exist on the system
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Check file system permissions on affected directoriesReview permissions on TPRoot, NNTPFile\Root, and WWWRoot folders using 'icacls' or file properties Security tab. Verify which local users or groups have Write or Change permissions.Affected if Local non-privileged users have Write or Modify permissions to these directories, allowing them to trigger file change notifications for privilege escalation
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Verify user context of IIS worker processCheck the application pool identity or the W3SVC service logon account. In IIS 6.0, check the worker process (w3wp.exe) account in Task Manager or via 'appcmd list wp'.Affected if IIS runs with an administrative or elevated service account rather than a low-privilege account
A system is affected if it runs IIS versions 5.0, 6.0, or 7.0 with local user access and permissive file permissions on TPRoot, NNTPFile\Root, or WWWRoot directories.
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 Microsoft security patches for CVE-2008-0074 and restrict file system permissions on IIS root directories (TPRoot, NNTPFile\Root, WWWRoot) to limit local user access and reduce privilege escalation risk.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-0074 — 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-2008-0074 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