CVE-2004-0985

Internet Explorer 6.x on Windows XP SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code, as demonstrated using a document with a draggable file type such as .xml, .doc, .py, .cdf, .css, .pdf, or .ppt, and using ADODB.Connection and ADODB.recordset to write to a .hta file that is interpreted in the Local Zone by HTML Help.

Published: 2004-12-31 Last update: 2026-04-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2004-0985 is rated High Risk (69/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 41.49%, 97th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2004-0985

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 60.16% 41.49% -18.67%
2 2025-03-29 41.49% 60.16% +18.67%
3 2025-03-17 41.49%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2004-0985

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2004-0985

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2004-0985

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft ie 6.0 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:ie:6.0:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2004-0985

cvelogic Threat Intelligence