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FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-1999-0032

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 1996-10-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Buffer overflow in lpr, as used in BSD-based systems including Linux, allows local users to execute arbitrary code as root via a long -C (classification) command line option.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the lpr utility allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges by providing an excessively long string to the -C (classification) command line option, which is not properly bounds-checked before copying into a fixed-size buffer.

MitigationApply vendor patches for affected BSD-based and Linux systems; implement proper input length validation on the -C parameter in lpr source code; consider using modern printing systems as alternatives.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:= 2.0= 2.0.5= 2.1.0= 2.1.5
IrixOperating system
Affected:= 5.0= 5.0.1= 5.1= 5.1.1= 5.2= 5.3= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.1= 6.2= 6.3= 6.4
Bsd OsOperating system
Affected:= 2.1
NextstepOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 4.1
SunosOperating system
Affected:= 4.1.3u1= 4.1.4

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your operating system version
    Run 'uname -a' or check /etc/os-release for BSD systems, or 'oslevel' for IRIX, or 'uname -srv' for SunOS
    Affected if The OS version matches one of the affected versions: FreeBSD 2.0/2.0.5/2.1.0/2.1.5, IRIX 5.0-6.4, BSDi BSD OS 2.1, Nextstep 4.0/4.1, or SunOS 4.1.3u1/4.1.4
  2. Verify lpr utility is installed
    Run 'which lpr' or 'find /usr -name lpr -print' to locate the lpr binary
    Affected if The lpr binary exists on the system and is from an affected version
  3. Check if lpr supports the -C option
    Run 'lpr -C' with any argument or check 'lpr --help' and 'man lpr' for -C option documentation
    Affected if The -C (classification) option is available in the installed lpr version
  4. Determine if lpr runs with elevated privileges
    Check lpr binary permissions with 'ls -la /usr/bin/lpr' or similar path, and check if it has setuid bit: 'ls -la /usr/bin/lpr | grep 's'
    Affected if The lpr binary has setuid root permissions (the 's' bit in permissions) - required for root privilege escalation
  5. Inspect for signs of compromise
    Review system logs (syslog, auth.log) for failed lpr commands around the time of the CVE disclosure, and check for unexpected files in /tmp or /var/spool/lpd
    Affected if There are suspicious log entries or files indicating exploitation attempts of the lpr -C buffer overflow

You are affected if you are running any of the listed OS versions with a setuid root lpr binary that supports the -C option, as this combination allows local privilege escalation through the unvalidated buffer overflow.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patches for affected BSD-based and Linux systems; implement proper input length validation on the -C parameter in lpr source code; consider using modern printing systems as alternatives.

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-1999-0032 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data