Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2004-0213

Utility Manager in Windows 2000 launches winhlp32.exe while Utility Manager is running with raised privileges, which allows local users to gain system privileges via a "Shatter" style attack that sends a Windows message to cause Utility Manager to launch winhlp32 by directly accessing the context sensitive help and bypassing the GUI, then sending another message to winhlp32 in order to open a user-selected file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2003-0908.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from microsoft organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2004, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.

Published

2004-08-06T04:00:00.000

Last Modified

2026-04-16T00:27:16.627

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-306

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Operating System	microsoft	windows_2000	-	Yes
Operating System	microsoft	windows_2000	-	Yes
Operating System	microsoft	windows_2000	-	Yes

References

http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=108975382413405&w=2 Mailing List ([email protected])
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/868580 Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource ([email protected])
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA04-196A.html Broken Link, Patch, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource ([email protected])
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2004/ms04-019 Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/16592 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A2495 Broken Link ([email protected])
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=108975382413405&w=2 Mailing List (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/868580 Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA04-196A.html Broken Link, Patch, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2004/ms04-019 Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/16592 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A2495 Broken Link (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For microsoft's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.