Apache HTTP Server up to 1.3.29/2.0.48 Cygwin path traversal

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
4.8	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Apache HTTP Server up to 1.3.29/2.0.48. This impacts an unknown function of the component Cygwin Handler. The manipulation leads to path traversal. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2004-0173. Moreover, an exploit is present.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apache HTTP Server up to 1.3.29/2.0.48 (Web Server) and classified as critical. This issue affects an unknown code of the component Cygwin Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. Impacted is confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

Directory traversal vulnerability in Apache 1.3.29 and earlier, and Apache 2.0.48 and earlier, when running on Cygwin, allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a URL containing "..%5C" (dot dot encoded backslash) sequences.

The bug was discovered 02/24/2004. The weakness was disclosed 04/15/2004 by Jeremy Bae (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at marc.info. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2004-0173. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1006 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

The exploit is available at exploit-db.com. It is declared as proof-of-concept. The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 51 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $25k-$100k. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 86651 (Apache Cygwin Directory Traversal Vulnerability).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (15293), Exploit-DB (23751), SecurityFocus (BID 9733†), OSVDB (4037†) and Secunia (SA10962†). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Web Server

Vendor

• Apache

Name

• HTTP Server

Version

• 1.3.0
• 1.3.1
• 1.3.2
• 1.3.3
• 1.3.4
• 1.3.5
• 1.3.6
• 1.3.7
• 1.3.8
• 1.3.9
• 1.3.10
• 1.3.11
• 1.3.12
• 1.3.13
• 1.3.14
• 1.3.15
• 1.3.16
• 1.3.17
• 1.3.18
• 1.3.19
• 1.3.20
• 1.3.21
• 1.3.22
• 1.3.23
• 1.3.24
• 1.3.25
• 1.3.26
• 1.3.27
• 1.3.28
• 1.3.29
• 2.0.0
• 2.0.1
• 2.0.2
• 2.0.3
• 2.0.4
• 2.0.5
• 2.0.6
• 2.0.7
• 2.0.8
• 2.0.9
• 2.0.10
• 2.0.11
• 2.0.12
• 2.0.13
• 2.0.14
• 2.0.15
• 2.0.16
• 2.0.17
• 2.0.18
• 2.0.19
• 2.0.20
• 2.0.21
• 2.0.22
• 2.0.23
• 2.0.24
• 2.0.25
• 2.0.26
• 2.0.27
• 2.0.28
• 2.0.29
• 2.0.30
• 2.0.31
• 2.0.32
• 2.0.33
• 2.0.34
• 2.0.35
• 2.0.36
• 2.0.37
• 2.0.38
• 2.0.39
• 2.0.40
• 2.0.41
• 2.0.42
• 2.0.43
• 2.0.44
• 2.0.45
• 2.0.46
• 2.0.47
• 2.0.48

License

• open-source

Support

• end of life (old version)

Website

• Vendor: https://www.apache.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.8

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.8
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Path traversal
CWE: CWE-22
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Proof-of-Concept
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

02/24/2004 🔍
02/24/2004 +0 days 🔍
02/24/2004 +0 days 🔍
02/24/2004 +0 days 🔍
04/15/2004 +51 days 🔍
04/15/2004 +0 days 🔍
06/09/2004 +55 days 🔍
10/16/2014 +3781 days 🔍
08/21/2025 +3962 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apache.org

Advisory: marc.info
Researcher: Jeremy Bae
Status: Not defined
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2004-0173 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2004-0173
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-21767
X-Force: 15293
SecurityFocus: 9733 - Apache Cygwin Directory Traversal Vulnerability
Secunia: 10962 - Apache Directory Traversal Vulnerability, Moderately Critical
OSVDB: 4037 - Apache - Cygwin - Directory Traversal Vulnerability
Vulnerability Center: 4433 - Apache <= 1.3.29 and Apache 2.0 - 2.0.48 Allow Reading of Arbitrary Files, Medium

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

Entryinfo

Created: 10/16/2014 11:17
Updated: 08/21/2025 11:00
Changes: 10/16/2014 11:17 (66), 06/04/2019 22:28 (3), 08/21/2025 11:00 (27)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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