CVE-1999-0095
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 · uneditedThe debug command in Sendmail is enabled, allowing attackers to execute commands as root.
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 · high confidenceSendmail versions prior to patches had the debug command enabled by default, allowing remote attackers to send specially crafted SMTP commands that would be interpreted as shell commands and executed with root privileges on the mail server.
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= 5.58CVSS 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Sendmail versionRun 'sendmail -V' or 'sendmail -d0.1' to display the installed Sendmail version numberAffected if The version displayed is 5.58 (Eric Allman Sendmail)
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Check Sendmail binary locationLocate the sendmail binary with 'which sendmail' or 'ls -la /usr/sbin/sendmail' and note the binary pathAffected if The binary is from Sendmail version 5.58
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Inspect debug feature in configurationExamine the Sendmail configuration file (typically /etc/sendmail.cf or /etc/mail/sendmail.cf) for the 'debug' or 'D' command settingsAffected if Debug commands are enabled or not commented out in the configuration
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Verify debug mode runtime statusConnect to the SMTP service on port 25 and attempt to issue debug-related SMTP commands (check if the debug command is accepted)Affected if The SMTP server accepts and processes debug commands
The system is affected if it runs Sendmail version 5.58 with debug mode enabled in the configuration or at runtime, allowing arbitrary command execution via SMTP.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedDisable debug mode in Sendmail configuration files and upgrade to a patched version of Sendmail that has the debug functionality removed or properly secured.
Migrate from Sendmail 5.58 to a modern mail server (Postfix, Exim, or Sendmail 8.x+)
- Identify the current Sendmail version using 'sendmail -V' or 'sendmail -d0.1'
- Backup all Sendmail configuration files (/etc/sendmail.cf, /etc/mail/ directory, and aliases)
- Stop the Sendmail service using 'service sendmail stop' or '/etc/init.d/sendmail stop'
- Upgrade to a modern, supported mail server solution (Sendmail 8.x or alternative such as Postfix, Exim, or Dovecot)
- Restore configurations to the new mail server, adapting for current syntax and best practices
- Start the new mail service and verify it is running
- Test mail functionality to ensure proper operation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0095 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-1999-0095 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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