CVE-1999-0185
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 · uneditedIn SunOS or Solaris, a remote user could connect from an FTP server's data port to an rlogin server on a host that trusts the FTP server, allowing remote command execution.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability exploits trust relationships between FTP servers and rlogin services on SunOS/Solaris systems. An attacker can initiate a connection from an FTP server's data port to an rlogin server that trusts the FTP server, bypassing normal authentication and achieving remote command execution.
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= 2.4= 2.5= 2.5.1= 4.1.3u1= 4.1.4= 5.3= 5.4= 5.5= 5.5.1CVSS 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
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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 the operating system versionRun 'uname -a' or 'cat /etc/release' to determine the exact SunOS/Solaris versionAffected if The system runs Sun Solaris 2.4, 2.5, or 2.5.1, or SunOS 4.1.3u1, 4.1.4, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, or 5.5.1
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Verify if rlogin service is enabledCheck /etc/inetd.conf for an uncommented rlogin entry, or run 'ps -ef | grep rlogind' to see if the rlogin daemon is runningAffected if The rlogin service (rlogind) is actively running or configured to start
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Check for trusted host relationshipsExamine /etc/hosts.equiv and user home directory .rhosts files for entries that grant trust without password authenticationAffected if Trust relationships exist that allow passwordless access from remote systems
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Determine if FTP server is runningCheck if an FTP daemon (ftpd) is running via 'ps -ef | grep ftpd' or by examining /etc/inetd.conf for FTP entriesAffected if An FTP server is operational on the system
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Inspect firewall rulesReview /etc/ipf/ipf.conf or iptables rules (if applicable) to see if inbound connections to port 513 (rlogin) are permittedAffected if Firewall permits unrestricted access to port 513 from untrusted networks
You are affected if you run any of the listed SunOS/Solaris versions AND have rlogin enabled with trust relationships configured, allowing an attacker to pivot from an FTP data connection to bypass rlogin authentication.
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 dataDisable the rlogin service or remove trust relationships between FTP servers and rlogin servers. Implement SSH as a secure alternative and configure firewalls to restrict access to sensitive services.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,912.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0185 — 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-1999-0185 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
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