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InnApplication · Isc

CVE-1999-0247

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 1997-07-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Buffer overflow in nnrpd program in INN up to version 1.6 allows remote users to execute arbitrary commands.

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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in nnrpd (Network News Transfer Protocol daemon) in InterNetNews (INN) versions up to 1.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via malformed input. The overflow occurs due to insufficient bounds checking when processing NNTP commands, enabling attackers to overwrite stack memory and inject malicious code.

MitigationUpgrade INN to version 1.7.2 or later which contains the patched nnrpd binary, or apply vendor-supplied patches if upgrading is not feasible. If INN 1.6 is no longer supported, consider migrating to a supported news server solution.

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
InnApplication
Affected:= 1.4= 1.4sec= 1.4sec2= 1.4unoff3= 1.4unoff4= 1.5= 1.5.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify INN version
    Run `innd -v` or `innd -V` to display the installed INN version, or check your package manager (e.g., `rpm -q inn` or `dpkg -l inn`)
    Affected if The version displayed is 1.4, 1.4sec, 1.4sec2, 1.4unoff3, 1.4unoff4, 1.5, or 1.5.1
  2. Confirm nnrpd binary version
    Run `nnrpd -v` or `nnrpd -V` to check the nnrpd daemon version specifically
    Affected if The nnrpd version matches one of the affected INN versions listed above
  3. Verify nnrpd is running
    Check running processes for nnrpd using `ps aux | grep nnrpd` or check if the NNTP port (119) is listening
    Affected if nnrpd is actively running and serving NNTP connections, exposing the vulnerable code to network input

If INN/nnrpd version is 1.4 through 1.5.1 and nnrpd is running, the system is affected by this buffer overflow vulnerability.

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

Upgrade INN to version 1.7.2 or later which contains the patched nnrpd binary, or apply vendor-supplied patches if upgrading is not feasible. If INN 1.6 is no longer supported, consider migrating to a supported news server solution.

Fix this in Inn Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-1999-0247 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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