CVE-2005-1978: COM+ in Microsoft Windows does not properly "create and use memory structures," which allows local users or remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.

PriorityP350high7.5CVSS 2.0

AVNACLAuNCPIPAP

EXPLOIT

EPSS

53.38%

99.0th percentile

COM+ in Microsoft Windows does not properly "create and use memory structures," which allows local users or remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.

Affected

4 ranges

Vendor	Product	Version range	Fixed in
microsoft	windows_2003_server	—	—
microsoft	windows_2003_server	—	—
microsoft	windows_2003_server	—	—
microsoft	windows_2003_server	—	—

Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

bytes↗

05 00 0b 03 10 00 00 00 48 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 d0 16 d0 16 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 e0 0c 6b 90 0b c7 67 10 b3 17 00 dd 01 06 62 da 01 00 00 00 04 5d 88 8a eb 1c c9 11 9f e8 08 00 2b 10 48 60 02 00 00 00

bytes↗

05 00 00 83 10 00 00 00 2c 05 00 00 01 00 00 00 04 05 00 00 00 00 07 00 e0 0c 6b 90 0b c7 67 10 b3 17 00 dd 01 06 62 da

→The exploit targets the MS-DTC (Distributed Transaction Coordinator) RPC interface. The DCERPC bind packet in peer0_0 contains the interface UUID e0 0c 6b 90 0b c7 67 10 b3 17 00 dd 01 06 62 da — monitor for DCERPC BIND requests to this UUID over TCP. ↗
→The exploit payload (peer0_1) uses a large NOP-sled equivalent of 0xCC bytes (INT3 breakpoint opcodes) interleaved with 0x00 bytes as a heap spray / sled. Detect large blocks of alternating CC 00 patterns in DCERPC request payloads as a strong indicator of this exploit. ↗
→The exploit author notes the target return/jump address used is 0x684191c4 when the preferred pointer write to 0x7ffdf020 is not feasible. Detect memory access or EIP/RIP values near 0x684191c4 in crash dumps or debugger output on MSDTC/COM+ processes. ↗
→The DCERPC request packet (peer0_1) has a PDU type byte of 0x83 at offset 3 (opnum field area) and a total fragment length of 0x052c (1324 bytes). Monitor for oversized DCERPC request PDUs to the MS-DTC interface with these characteristics. ↗

·The exploit is described as unreliable — only 5 of 10+ tested boxes were successfully exploited ('owned'), and the author expects the real-world success rate to be even lower. Detection based on the payload pattern is more reliable than expecting consistent exploitation outcomes. ↗
·The exploit is marked as a POC by its author and may not represent the most effective exploitation technique for CVE-2005-1978/MS05-051. More reliable variants may exist with different payload structures. ↗

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