CVE-2005-1979 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE
Distributed Transaction Controller in Microsoft Windows allows remote servers to cause a denial of service (MSDTC service exception and exit) via an "unexpected protocol command during the reconnection request," which is not properly handled by the Transaction Internet Protocol (TIP) functionality.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-1979 targets the Distributed Transaction Coordinator component within Microsoft Windows operating systems, specifically affecting the MSDTC service that manages distributed transactions across multiple systems. This flaw exists within the Transaction Internet Protocol functionality which handles communication between transaction participants during distributed transaction processing. The vulnerability manifests when remote servers send unexpected protocol commands during the reconnection request phase of transaction processing, leading to service exceptions that ultimately cause the MSDTC service to terminate unexpectedly.
This denial of service vulnerability operates through the TIP protocol implementation within the Distributed Transaction Coordinator, where the system fails to properly validate or handle unexpected command sequences during the reconnection process. The flaw represents a classic input validation issue that allows malicious actors to exploit the protocol handling mechanism by sending malformed or unexpected commands that the system cannot process gracefully. When the MSDTC service encounters these unexpected protocol commands, it triggers an exception that results in the service crashing and exiting, thereby disrupting transaction processing capabilities across the affected system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption as it can severely affect systems relying on distributed transaction processing, particularly in enterprise environments where database transactions and multi-system coordination are common. Organizations utilizing Microsoft Windows servers with MSDTC enabled become vulnerable to attacks that can cause cascading failures in transactional applications, potentially leading to data inconsistency issues and service unavailability. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where distributed transactions are frequent, as it can be exploited to repeatedly crash the transaction coordinator service, making it difficult to maintain system availability and reliability.
From a security perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-248, which addresses the issue of an exception being thrown but not properly handled, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. The flaw demonstrates how protocol implementation weaknesses can be exploited to cause service termination, which represents a fundamental failure in error handling and protocol robustness. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication, making it a significant concern for networked systems. Organizations should implement network segmentation and firewall rules to restrict access to MSDTC ports, while also applying Microsoft security updates to address the underlying protocol handling issues. System administrators should monitor for unusual transaction coordinator service behavior and consider implementing additional monitoring for MSDTC service stability to detect potential exploitation attempts.