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LinuxOperating system · Redhat

CVE-1999-0043

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 1996-12-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Command execution via shell metachars in INN daemon (innd) 1.5 using "newgroup" and "rmgroup" control messages, and others.

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

Remote command injection vulnerability in INN (InterNetNews) daemon version 1.5 allows attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands by sending specially crafted 'newgroup' or 'rmgroup' control messages containing shell metacharacters.

MitigationUpgrade INN to the latest stable version or apply vendor patches; network segmentation and disabling unauthenticated control messages can reduce attack surface.

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
LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 4.1
InnApplication
Affected:= 1.4sec= 1.4sec2= 1.4unoff3= 1.4unoff4= 1.5
News ServerApplication
Affected:= 1.1
Bsd OsOperating system
Affected:= 2.1
OpenlinuxOperating system
Affected:= 1.0
Goah IntrasvHardware / appliance
Affected:= 1.1
Goah NetworksvHardware / appliance
Affected:= 1.2= 2.2= 3.1

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 if INN (InterNetNews) is installed
    Check for the presence of INN binaries and configuration files. Common locations include /usr/lib/news/, /etc/news/, or run 'which innd' or 'which innd' to locate the INN daemon.
    Affected if INN daemon (innd) is found on the system
  2. Determine the installed INN version
    Run 'innd -v' or check the INN package version using the system's package manager (e.g., rpm -q inn or dpkg -l inn). Compare the version number to the affected ranges: Redhat 4.0/4.1, ISC INN 1.4sec through 1.5, Netscape News Server 1.1, BSDi 2.1, Caldera 1.0, NEC variants.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the listed vulnerable versions (1.4sec, 1.4sec2, 1.4unoff3, 1.4unoff4, 1.5, or vendor-specific equivalents like 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.0, 4.1)
  3. Check if control message processing is enabled
    Examine the INN configuration file (usually newsfeeds or inn.conf) for the 'control' or 'controlchan' setting, and verify that newgroup and rmgroup control messages are being processed.
    Affected if Control message handling for newgroup or rmgroup is enabled in the INN configuration
  4. Verify if unauthenticated control messages are accepted
    Look at the INN control.ctl or controlparms configuration file to determine if unauthenticated control messages are being accepted without verification.
    Affected if Unauthenticated (non-verified) control messages are permitted in the INN control message configuration

The system is affected if it runs a vulnerable INN version (1.4sec through 1.5 or vendor equivalents) with control message processing enabled and accepting unauthenticated newgroup/rmgroup control messages.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade INN to the latest stable version or apply vendor patches; network segmentation and disabling unauthenticated control messages can reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

INN 2.7.x or latest stable release (modern ISC INN)

  1. 1. Identify the INN (InterNetNews) version currently installed using 'innd -v' or checking package manager records
  2. 2. If running a vulnerable version (INN 1.4.x, 1.5.x, or 1.6.x), plan for upgrade to a supported stable release
  3. 3. Backup current INN configuration files (typically in /etc/news/ or /usr/local/etc/news/)
  4. 4. Stop the INN daemon: 'kill -TERM $(cat /var/run/innd.pid)' or equivalent service command
  5. 5. Upgrade INN to the latest stable release (INN 2.7.x or later as of 2024) using your system's package manager or compiling from source from https://ftp.isc.org/isc/inn/
  6. 6. Restore configuration from backup, reviewing for any deprecated directives
  7. 7. Start the INN daemon and verify operation with 'ctlinnd mode'
  8. 8. Test that control messages (newgroup, rmgroup) no longer accept shell metacharacters by attempting injection in a controlled test environment
Caveat Configuration file syntax may have changed between 1.x and 2.x; test thoroughly before production deployment; some legacy control message behaviors may differ

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-1999-0043 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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