CVE-1999-1581: Medium severity Microsoft Windows NT vulnerability
Memory leak in Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent (snmp.exe) for Windows NT 4.0 before Service Pack 4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a large number of SNMP packets with Object Identifiers (OIDs) that cannot be decoded.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in Service Pack 4 - Remove
Remove
Microsoft Windows NT SNMP agent (snmp.exe)from your environment.Uninstall or remove the SNMP agent component if SNMP functionality is not required.
- Configuration
Stop and disable the SNMP service (snmp.exe) on affected Windows NT systems to prevent remote exploitation.
SNMP agent (snmp.exe) enabled = false - Compensating control
Restrict or block SNMP packets from untrusted networks (for example via firewall rules or ACLs) to prevent remote attackers from sending large numbers of SNMP requests that could trigger the memory leak.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-1999-1581?
CVE-1999-1581 is classified as a denial of service vulnerability due to memory consumption.
How do I fix CVE-1999-1581?
The recommended fix for CVE-1999-1581 is to upgrade to at least Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.
What systems are affected by CVE-1999-1581?
CVE-1999-1581 affects Windows NT 4.0 and its Service Pack versions prior to SP4.
How does CVE-1999-1581 exploit system resources?
CVE-1999-1581 exploits system resources by sending a large number of SNMP packets with undecodeable Object Identifiers.
What type of attacks does CVE-1999-1581 facilitate?
CVE-1999-1581 facilitates denial-of-service attacks by causing memory leaks in the SNMP agent on affected Windows NT systems.