dbcve.org
SunosOperating system · Sun

CVE-1999-0209

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 1990-08-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The SunView (SunTools) selection_svc facility allows remote users to read files.

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

The SunView (SunTools) selection_svc facility contains a vulnerability that allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files on the target system. The selection service, designed for inter-application data sharing in the SunView windowing environment, does not properly validate incoming requests, enabling unauthorized file system access.

MitigationDisable the selection_svc facility if SunView/SunTools is still in use, as this is obsolete legacy technology. For any systems still running SunView, migrate to modern windowing systems or upgrade the operating environment.

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
SunosOperating system
Affected:= 3.5= 4.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.1= 4.1.1

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
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the operating system
    Run 'uname -a' to see if the system is running SunOS
    Affected if The OS is not SunOS (this CVE only applies to SunOS)
  2. Check the SunOS version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /etc/motd' to determine the exact version number
    Affected if Version is 3.5, 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.1, or 4.1.1
  3. Determine if SunView/SunTools is installed
    Check for the presence of /usr/lib/sunview or /usr/bin/sunview directories, or try 'which sunview'
    Affected if SunView binaries or libraries are present on the system
  4. Check if selection_svc is running
    Look for the selection_svc process using 'ps -ax | grep selection_svc' or check for port 58200/tcp (the default selection service port) with 'netstat -an | grep 58200'
    Affected if The selection_svc process is active or port 58200 is listening

A system is affected only if it runs one of the listed SunOS versions (3.5 through 4.1.1) AND has SunView with the selection_svc facility enabled and running.

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 selection_svc facility if SunView/SunTools is still in use, as this is obsolete legacy technology. For any systems still running SunView, migrate to modern windowing systems or upgrade the operating environment.

Fix this in Sunos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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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-1999-0209 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
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