dbcve.org
OpenBSDOperating system

CVE-1999-0062

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 1998-08-03
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
The chpass command in OpenBSD allows a local user to gain root access through file descriptor leakage.

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

In OpenBSD, the chpass command (used for modifying user password information) contains a file descriptor leakage vulnerability that allows a local unprivileged user to escalate privileges to root. The file descriptor leak enables manipulation of sensitive file handles that, when exploited, can result in arbitrary code execution with root privileges.

MitigationApply vendor patches from OpenBSD for this vulnerability (if running legacy systems). For modern deployments, ensure systems are upgraded to current supported OpenBSD releases. Restrict local shell access to trusted users as a defense-in-depth measure.

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
OpenBSDOperating system
Affected:= 2.3

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 the operating system
    Run 'uname -s' or check /etc/os-release to confirm the OS is OpenBSD
    Affected if The system is not running OpenBSD (this CVE only applies to OpenBSD)
  2. Determine the OpenBSD version
    Run 'uname -r' or check the kernel version to identify if it matches version 2.3
    Affected if The version is OpenBSD 2.3 specifically (only this version is listed as affected)
  3. Verify the chpass command is present
    Check if the chpass utility exists at /usr/bin/chpass or via 'which chpass'
    Affected if The chpass command is not installed (the vulnerability only exists if this binary is present)
  4. Confirm local user access context
    This vulnerability requires a local unprivileged user account to exploit the file descriptor leak
    Affected if Local untrusted users have shell access to the system (the flaw requires local user context to exploit)

A system is affected only if it is running OpenBSD version 2.3 with the chpass command installed and allows local untrusted users access to the system.

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 from OpenBSD for this vulnerability (if running legacy systems). For modern deployments, ensure systems are upgraded to current supported OpenBSD releases. Restrict local shell access to trusted users as a defense-in-depth measure.

Fix this in OpenBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-1999-0062 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