CVE-1999-0242
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 · uneditedRemote attackers can access mail files via POP3 in some Linux systems that are using shadow passwords.
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 allows remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to mail files via the POP3 protocol on Linux systems utilizing shadow passwords. The issue likely stems from improper configuration or implementation of POP3 daemon permissions when shadow password authentication is in use, potentially allowing attackers to bypass intended access controls and read other users' mail.
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 dataall 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
- 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 Linux distributionRun 'uname -a' or check /etc/slackware-version to confirm the system is running Slackware LinuxAffected if The system is running any version of Slackware Linux
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Check if POP3 service is enabledExamine /etc/inetd.conf or /etc/xinetd.d/ for POP3 daemon entries, or run 'ps aux | grep -i pop' to see if a POP3 daemon is runningAffected if A POP3 daemon is active and listening for connections
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Verify shadow password system is in useCheck for the presence of /etc/shadow (instead of /etc/passwd alone) as the password storage mechanism using 'ls -l /etc/shadow'Affected if The system uses shadow passwords (/etc/shadow exists and is used for authentication)
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Inspect mail spool file permissionsCheck the permissions on the mail spool directory (typically /var/spool/mail or /var/mail) and individual user mail files using 'ls -la /var/spool/mail/' or equivalentAffected if Mail files are owned by the correct user but world-readable or group-readable, or ownership is incorrectly set allowing cross-user access
The system is affected if it is Slackware Linux running a POP3 daemon with shadow password authentication enabled, and mail spool files have overly permissive access controls that could allow one user to read another user's mail.
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 or properly configure POP3 services on legacy Linux systems, ensuring that file permissions and authentication mechanisms correctly enforce user isolation. Consider migrating to modern mail retrieval protocols or updated POP3 implementations that properly integrate with shadow password systems.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0242 — 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-1999-0242 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data