# CVE-1999-0281: Microsoft IIS denial of service via long URLs

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-0281-microsoft-iis-denial-of-service-via-long-urls  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 1997-06-01. Updated: 2026-05-10  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-1999-0281 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5 · Published 1997-06-01

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), a web server used to host websites and applications, is vulnerable to a denial-of-service attack. By sending a specially crafted, excessively long web address (URL) to the server, an attacker can cause the service to crash or become unresponsive. This can lead to website downtime, preventing customers and employees from accessing hosted services.

Technologies: [Microsoft Internet Information Services](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/internet-information-services). Vendors: [Microsoft](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/microsoft).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-1999-0281 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-0281 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-1999-0281?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 5, published 1 June 1997.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 2.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-1999-0281?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-1999-0281 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.

**Am I affected by CVE-1999-0281?** Check whether you run Microsoft Internet Information Server or Microsoft Internet Information Services. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 2.0 due to improper handling of long URL requests. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending a GET request containing an excessively long string to the web server. This triggers a resource exhaustion or crash condition within the service, leading to a loss of availability. The vulnerability is reachable over the network without user interaction. While specific patch details are dated, modern versions of IIS are not affected by this legacy issue.

## Affected products

- Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 2.0

## Timeline

- 1997-06-01: disclosed

## References

- [https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/CVE-1999-0281](https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/CVE-1999-0281)

## Related threats

- [Windows Internet Information Services denial of service](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-119909-uncontrolled-resource-consumption-in-windows-internet)
- [Microsoft Windows Web Servers access bypass via long filenames](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-0012-microsoft-windows-web-servers-access-bypass-via-long-filenames)
- [Microsoft IIS file overwrite in newdsn.exe CGI script](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-0191-microsoft-iis-file-overwrite-in-newdsn-exe-cgi-script)
- [Microsoft IIS source code disclosure via URL encoding](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-0253-microsoft-iis-source-code-disclosure-via-url-encoding)
- [Microsoft IIS arbitrary command execution via .bat and .cmd files](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-0233-microsoft-iis-arbitrary-command-execution-via-bat-and-cmd-files)