dbcve.org
AixOperating system · Ibm

CVE-1999-0113

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 1994-05-23
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
Some implementations of rlogin allow root access if given a -froot parameter.

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

This is an authentication bypass vulnerability in certain rlogin (remote login) service implementations where the -froot parameter can be passed to bypass normal authentication and gain root-level access to the system.

MitigationDisable the rlogin service entirely and migrate to SSH for remote access, as rlogin is deprecated and contains multiple known vulnerabilities.

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
AixOperating system
Affected:= 3.1= 3.2= 3.2.4= 3.2.5

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the installed AIX version
    Run 'oslevel' or 'uname -a' to determine the exact AIX version number
    Affected if The version is 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.4, or 3.2.5
  2. Verify rlogin service is available
    Check if the rlogin daemon exists on the system, typically via 'ls /usr/sbin/rlogind' or by checking if rlogin is listed in /etc/inetd.conf or as a managed service
    Affected if The rlogin binary or service configuration exists on the system
  3. Confirm rlogin is enabled
    Check if rlogin is active in inetd configuration (/etc/inetd.conf) or running as a standalone service
    Affected if The rlogin service is enabled and listening for connections
  4. Test for vulnerable -froot parameter
    From a remote system, attempt to connect using 'rlogin -froot target' or check rlogin man page for -f or -froot flag availability
    Affected if The -froot option is accepted and bypasses authentication, granting root access without a password

A system is affected if it runs AIX 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.4, or 3.2.5 with the rlogin service enabled and the -froot parameter functional.

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

Disable the rlogin service entirely and migrate to SSH for remote access, as rlogin is deprecated and contains multiple known vulnerabilities.

Fix this in Aix Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-1999-0113 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