Security Resilience

CVE-2004-0210

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows 2000

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
06 August 2004
Modified
16 April 2026
KEV Added
03 March 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.072 94th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2004-0210 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 2000. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is a buffer overflow, identified as CWE-120, in the POSIX component of Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000. It is triggered by certain parameters, possibly involving modification of message length values, and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 with a local attack vector.

Local users with access to an affected system can exploit the flaw to execute arbitrary code, resulting in full impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The issue was published in August 2004.

Advisories and patches referenced in sources such as the Microsoft security bulletin MS04-020, US-CERT TA04-196A, and CERT VU 647436 address the vulnerability through updates for the impacted Windows platforms.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The POSIX component of Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000 allows local users to execute arbitrary code via certain parameters, possibly by modifying message length values and causing a buffer overflow.

CWE(s)
CWE-120
KEV Date Added
03 March 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2017-7269Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2013-1331Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2010-2572Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2016-0099Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2006-2492Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2002-0367Same product: Microsoft Windows 2000both on KEV
CVE-2010-0806Same product: Microsoft Windows 2000both on KEV
CVE-2010-0249Same product: Microsoft Windows 2000both on KEV
CVE-2013-2551Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2015-2360Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV

Affected Assets

microsoft
interix
2.2
microsoft
windows 2000
all versions
microsoft
windows nt
4.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.1

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-120

Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References