CVE-1999-0139
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in Solaris x86 mkcookie allows local users to obtain root access.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in the mkcookie utility on Solaris x86 allows local unprivileged users to execute arbitrary code with root privileges through a malformed input, achieving privilege escalation.
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= 2.5= 2.5.1= 7.0all versionsCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Locate the mkcookie utilitySearch for the mkcookie binary on the system using 'find / -name mkcookie -type f 2>/dev/null' or check common binary directories such as /usr/bin, /usr/sbin, /opt, or /sbinAffected if The mkcookie utility is present on the system and is executable by any user
-
Identify the operating system versionRun 'uname -a' or check '/etc/release' to determine the Solaris or SunOS version numberAffected if The system is running Sun Solaris 2.5, 2.5.1, or 7.0, or any version of SunOS
-
Verify the system architectureRun 'uname -m' or 'isainfo -v' to confirm the system is x86 (i386/i486/i586) architectureAffected if The system is running on x86 architecture and mkcookie is present
-
Check mkcookie file permissionsIf mkcookie is found, run 'ls -la <path_to_mkcookie>' to inspect owner, group, and world execute permissionsAffected if The mkcookie binary is owned by root and executable by non-root users (world-executable or group-executable)
-
Determine if the utility is actively used or requiredReview system documentation, startup scripts, and cron jobs for references to mkcookie usageAffected if mkcookie is present and the system meets the affected version and architecture criteria
A system is affected if it runs Solaris 2.5/2.5.1/7.0 or any SunOS version on x86 architecture, has the mkcookie utility installed, and mkcookie is accessible to unprivileged users.
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.
From vendor dataApply historical Sun patches for Solaris x86 (contact Oracle for legacy patch archives), or disable/remove the mkcookie utility if not required for operations, or migrate to supported Solaris versions.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0139 — 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-1999-0139 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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