# CVE-2004-0493: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause denial of service via memory exhaustion in Apache HTTP Server by sending long header lines with excessive whitespace.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Jun 2004
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2004-0493, GHSA-jc6w-8vm4-hvp8

## What is CVE-2004-0493?

CVE-2004-0493 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Http Server, published on 30 Jun 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The ap_get_mime_headers_core function in Apache httpd 2.0.49 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion), and possibly an integer signedness error leading to a heap-based buffer overflow on 64 bit systems, via long header lines with large numbers of space or tab characters.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-0493?

It affects 8 products.


Products: Apache Http Server, Avaya Converged Communications Server, Avaya S8300, Avaya S8500, Avaya S8700, Gentoo Linux, Ibm Http Server, Trustix Secure Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-0493?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2004-0493 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-0493 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Apache - Arbitrary Long HTTP Headers (Denial of Service) (exploitdb)
- Apache - Arbitrary Long HTTP Headers Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Apache Http Server

- [CVE-2021-42013](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42013/): Apache HTTP Server Path Traversal (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-38475](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38475/): Apache HTTP Server Improper Escaping of Output (critical 9.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-40438](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40438/): Apache HTTP Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (critical 9.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-0211](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0211/): Apache HTTP Server Privilege Escalation (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-41773](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-41773/): Apache HTTP Server Path Traversal (high 7.5, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-0493 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-0493 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Http Server, published on 30 Jun 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-0493 exists.

Affected product: Apache Http Server. 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-2004-0493/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0493/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-0493
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-0493
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-0493

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0493/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.