Internet Explorer 5.01 and earlier allows a remote attacker to create a reference to a client window and use a server-side redirect to acce…

published 1999-12-08 26 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-1999-0962

cvss: 5.1; version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 13.1%; EPSS 13.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 96%
public exploits: 1; Exploit-DB

Internet Explorer 5.01 and earlier allows a remote attacker to create a reference to a client window and use a server-side redirect to access local files via that window, aka "Server-side Page Reference Redirect."

Timeline

1999-11-04 First public exploit (EDB-19591)
1999-12-08 Published

Exploit prediction

13.11% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 96% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

EDB-19591 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4/5 / Outlook 98 - 'window.open' Redirect remote, 1999-11-04

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	2.0	5.1	AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Classification

Weakness

CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

References

docs.microsoft.com /en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/1999/ms99-050
vendor-advisory
support.microsoft.com /default.aspx?scid=kb%3B%5BLN%5D%3BQ246094
vendor-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-1999-0981
NVD CVE-1999-0981

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary