CVE-1999-0291
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 WinGate proxy is installed without a password, which allows remote attackers to redirect connections without authentication.
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 confidenceWinGate proxy server was installed with no authentication password configured by default, allowing any remote attacker to connect to the proxy service and potentially redirect network traffic or access internal resources without credentials.
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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Verify WinGate proxy server is installedCheck for WinGate installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\WinGate or C:\WinGate) and look for wingate.exe, wgproxy.exe, or related executables. On Windows, also check Add/Remove Programs or the services list for WinGate services.Affected if WinGate proxy server software is found installed on the system
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Confirm WinGate proxy service is runningOpen Windows Services (services.msc) and look for WinGate services such as WinGate Engine, WinGate Proxy Server, or WinGate WWW Proxy. Or run 'net start' and search for WinGate-related entries.Affected if A WinGate proxy service is currently running
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Test proxy service accessibility from external sourceAttempt to connect to the proxy port (default HTTP proxy port is 80, or WinGate's default port 8080) from an untrusted network or machine outside the local network using a tool like netcat or curl: curl -x http://target:8080 http://example.comAffected if The proxy accepts connections and relays requests without requiring authentication credentials
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Check proxy authentication configurationAccess WinGate management console (usually on port 8080 or 8000) and examine the proxy policies. Look for authentication settings under the WWW Proxy service properties. Check if 'Require authentication' or similar option is enabled.Affected if Authentication is not required or no password is configured for the proxy service
A user is affected if WinGate proxy server is installed, running, and accepting connections without requiring authentication credentials.
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 dataConfigure strong authentication on the WinGate proxy service immediately and restrict access to trusted IP addresses or network segments.
- Consultation1.0 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-1999-0291 — 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-1999-0291 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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