CVE-1999-0174
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 view-source CGI program allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) attack.
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 confidenceThe view-source CGI program contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files on the server by using '../' sequences in the requested file path. This is a classic directory traversal flaw where the CGI fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied input before using it in file system operations.
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= 4.0= 4.05= 4.5= 4.06= 4.6= 4.07= 4.51CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
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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Locate the view-source CGI scriptSearch the web server's cgi-bin directory for a file named 'view-source' or similar (view-source.exe, view-source.cgi). Check common paths like /cgi-bin/, /scripts/, or the Netscape server's cgi directory.Affected if The view-source CGI script exists on the server and is accessible via HTTP.
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Identify Netscape Communicator versionCheck the installed Netscape Communicator version by examining the application binaries, installation directory, or version information. On Windows, check the executable properties; on Unix, check the binary or package version.Affected if The installed version matches 4.0, 4.05, 4.5, 4.06, 4.07, or 4.51.
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Test path traversal accessibilitySend an HTTP request to the view-source CGI with a path containing '../' sequences (e.g., /cgi-bin/view-source?/../../etc/passwd) and observe if the server returns file contents.Affected if The CGI returns the contents of files outside the intended directory, confirming the path traversal is exploitable.
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Verify CGI is enabled and executableConfirm the web server is configured to execute CGIs from the directory containing view-source, and that the script has execute permissions.Affected if The view-source CGI is present, enabled in the web server configuration, and responds to requests.
You are affected if the view-source CGI script exists in your web server environment AND your Netscape Communicator version is one of the affected versions (4.0, 4.05, 4.5, 4.06, 4.07, or 4.51), or if the CGI is present and responds to traversal-style requests regardless of version.
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 dataIf the view-source CGI is still in use, it should be removed or rewritten to implement strict input validation using allowlist approaches and basename() functions to prevent directory traversal. If no longer needed, the CGI should be decommissioned entirely.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0174 — 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-1999-0174 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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- 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
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