CVE-2002-0055 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE
SMTP service in Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Exchange 2000 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a command with a malformed data transfer (BDAT) request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0055 represents a critical denial of service flaw within the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol implementation of several Microsoft operating systems and server products. This weakness specifically targets the SMTP service functionality present in Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Exchange 2000 platforms, creating a pathway for remote attackers to disrupt email services through carefully crafted malicious commands. The vulnerability operates at the application layer of the network stack, specifically exploiting the handling of data transfer operations within the SMTP protocol implementation.
The technical flaw manifests through the improper validation of malformed BDAT (Binary Data Transfer) requests within the SMTP service processing pipeline. When the affected systems receive a specially constructed BDAT command containing malformed data transfer parameters, the SMTP service fails to properly handle the erroneous input and subsequently crashes or becomes unresponsive. This processing error occurs during the data transfer phase of SMTP communication, where the service attempts to parse and validate the binary data segments being transmitted. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization and error handling mechanisms within the SMTP service code, allowing malicious actors to inject malformed data that triggers an unhandled exception or resource exhaustion condition.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it enables attackers to systematically incapacitate email services across affected systems without requiring authentication or privileged access. Remote exploitation is particularly concerning because it can be executed from any network location without the need for local system access or user interaction. The denial of service condition affects not only individual email servers but can potentially cascade through email infrastructure, impacting organizational communication networks and potentially causing widespread disruption to business operations. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments that rely heavily on SMTP-based email services for internal and external communications.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input boundaries, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. The flaw represents a classic example of how protocol implementation errors can create significant security risks, particularly in widely deployed network services. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate affected SMTP services, deployment of intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious BDAT requests, and application of Microsoft security patches. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of proper input validation and error handling in network service implementations, as recommended by industry best practices for secure coding standards and the OWASP Top Ten security framework.