CVE-2000-0884: IIS 4.0 and 5.0 allows remote attackers to read documents outside of the web root, and possibly execute arb...

Security readout for executives and security teams

Older Microsoft web server software (IIS 4.0 and 5.0) can be tricked by specially formed web addresses into showing files outside the website folder and, in some cases, running commands on the server. An unauthenticated attacker on the internet could read sensitive files or take actions the server account is allowed to perform. Microsoft published a fix in bulletin MS00-078. Any internet-facing legacy Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 host still running IIS 4.0/5.0 without MS00-078 applied. Modern estates should have no exposure, but unmaintained appliances, isolated OT/ICS systems, or forgotten VMs cloned from old images can still surface this service on internal networks or DMZs. Priority is high only if legacy IIS 4.0/5.0 assets still exist; otherwise this is a housekeeping and inventory item. Treat any discovered unpatched host as an urgent remediation and potential incident, since exploitation is trivial, documented, and historically linked to worm activity. Mitigation focus: Apply Microsoft security bulletin MS00-078 to all affected IIS 4.0 and 5.0 hosts.; Retire or upgrade legacy Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 web servers to a supported platform.; Remove unused script mappings and unnecessary executables (for example cmd.exe) from web-accessible directories..

Prepared

Jul 11, 2026, 23:58 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.