Microsoft Indexing Service up to 2.0 ISAPI Extension idq.dll memory corruption

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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9.5$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Microsoft Indexing Service up to 2.0. This issue affects some unknown processing in the library idq.dll of the component ISAPI Extension Handler. This manipulation causes memory corruption. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2001-0500. Furthermore, an exploit is available. This vulnerability has a historic impact because of its background and how it was received. A worm is propagating and is automatically exploiting this vulnerability. It is suggested to install a patch to address this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Microsoft Indexing Service up to 2.0. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown processing in the library idq.dll of the component ISAPI Extension Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Buffer overflow in ISAPI extension (idq.dll) in Index Server 2.0 and Indexing Service 2000 in IIS 6.0 beta and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a long argument to Internet Data Administration (.ida) and Internet Data Query (.idq) files such as default.ida, as commonly exploited by Code Red.

The weakness was published 07/21/2001 by Riley Hassell (DiGiT) with eEye Digital Security as confirmed advisory (CERT.org). The advisory is shared at cert.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2001-0500. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details and also a public exploit are known. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/06/2025). Due to its background and reception, this vulnerability has a historic impact.

A public exploit has been developed in ANSI C. It is possible to download the exploit at securityfocus.com. It is declared as attacked. We expect the 0-day to have been worth approximately $100k and more. A worm is spreading, which is automatically exploiting this vulnerability. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 10713 , which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. The analysis with Nessus happens with this NASL code:

w = http_send_recv3(method: "GET", port: port,
  item: "/x.ida?"+crap(length:220, data:"x")+"=x");
if (isnull(w)) exit(1, "the web server did not answer");
r = strcat(w[0], w[1], '\r\n', w[2]);

    # 0xc0000005 == "Access Violation"
    if ("0xc0000005" >< r)
    {
        security_hole(port);
    }
The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 86170 (Microsoft Index Server and Indexing Service ISAPI Extension Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (MS01-033)).

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. Attack attempts may be identified with Snort ID 1243. Furthermore it is possible to detect and prevent this kind of attack with TippingPoint and the filter 1286.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (6992), Exploit-DB (20930), Tenable (10713), SecurityFocus (BID 2880†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-821†). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory corruption
CWE: CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Attacked
Wormified: 🔍
Programming Language: 🔍
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 10713
Nessus File: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 10713
OpenVAS Name: CodeRed version X detection
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

MetaSploit ID: ms01_033_idq.rb
MetaSploit Name: MS01-033 Microsoft IIS 5.0 IDQ Path Overflow
MetaSploit File: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍
Snort ID: 1243
Snort Message: SERVER-IIS ISAPI .ida attempt
Snort Class: 🔍
TippingPoint: 🔍

McAfee IPS: 🔍
McAfee IPS Version: 🔍

SourceFire IPS: 🔍
ISS Proventia IPS: 🔍
PaloAlto IPS: 🔍
Fortigate IPS: 🔍

Timelineinfo

06/18/2001 🔍
07/21/2001 +33 days 🔍
07/21/2001 +0 days 🔍
07/21/2001 +0 days 🔍
02/05/2003 +564 days 🔍
07/07/2014 +4170 days 🔍
10/06/2025 +4109 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com

Advisory: cert.org
Researcher: Riley Hassell (DiGiT)
Organization: eEye Digital Security
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2001-0500 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2001-0500
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-17065

OVAL: 🔍

X-Force: 6992
SecurityFocus: 2880 - MS Index Server and Indexing Service ISAPI Extension Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Vulnerability Center: 821 - [MS01-033] Buffer Overflow in MS Index Server and Indexing Service ISAPI Extension IDA/IDQ DLLs, High

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013

Entryinfo

Created: 07/07/2014 15:39
Updated: 10/06/2025 06:55
Changes: 07/07/2014 15:39 (87), 11/06/2018 08:02 (2), 01/29/2025 15:40 (16), 10/06/2025 06:55 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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