# CVE-2000-0979: Auth bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass file share access controls by sending a single-byte password matching the first character, allowing unauthorized data access.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Jan 2001
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fxp6-5w7j-wg3x

## What is CVE-2000-0979?

CVE-2000-0979 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 98, published on 22 Jan 2001. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

File and Print Sharing service in Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me does not properly check the password for a file share, which allows remote attackers to bypass share access controls by sending a 1-byte password that matches the first character of the real password, aka the "Share Level Password" vulnerability.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2000-0979?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98se, Microsoft Windows Me.

## How do I fix CVE-2000-0979?

No fix has been published for CVE-2000-0979 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2000-0979 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2000-0979 exists.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2000-0979 (github_poc): https://github.com/Z6543/CVE-2000-0979
- Microsoft Windows 9x/ME - Share Level Password Bypass (1) (exploitdb)
- Microsoft Windows 9x/ME - Share Level Password Bypass (2) (exploitdb)
- CVE-2000-0979 SMB Share Password Enumerator (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows 98

- [CVE-1999-0387](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0387/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2000-0330](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0330/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.6)
- [CVE-1999-0518](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0518/): Weak cryptography in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2000-0155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0155/): Code injection in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-1999-1201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1201/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2000-0979 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2000-0979 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 98, published on 22 Jan 2001. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2000-0979 exists.

Affected product: Microsoft Windows 98. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0979/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0979/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2000-0979
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2000-0979
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2000-0979

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0979/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.