dbcve.org
FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-1999-0297

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 1996-12-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Vixie Cron library up to version 3.0 allows local users to obtain root access via a long environmental variable.

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 Vixie Cron library versions up to 3.0 allows local unprivileged users to escalate privileges to root by exploiting a long environmental variable that is not properly bounds-checked, leading to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Vixie Cron to a version beyond 3.0 with security patches, or migrate to a modern cron implementation such as cronie or systemd timers. Apply least-privilege principles to limit which users can set environment variables for cron jobs.

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
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:= 2.1.0
LinuxOperating system
Affected:all versions
Vixie CronApplication
Affected:= 3.0
Bsd OsOperating system
Affected:= 2.1
NetbsdOperating system
Affected:= 2.0.4

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 installed cron package
    Run 'rpm -q vixie-cron' (Red Hat) or 'pkg_info -L vixie-cron' (FreeBSD/NetBSD) to list installed cron package and version
    Affected if Package version is 3.0 or earlier, or package name 'vixie-cron' is found on a Red Hat system of any version
  2. Check cron daemon version
    Run 'crond -v' or 'crontab -V' or examine the binary with 'file /usr/sbin/cron' and check the daemon's version string
    Affected if Version output shows 3.0 or lower, or binary is identified as Vixie Cron version 3.0 or earlier
  3. Verify cron process is running
    Run 'ps aux | grep -i cron' to confirm the cron daemon is active
    Affected if A cron daemon process is running and the binary path leads to a Vixie Cron installation
  4. Check cron executable path and binary info
    Execute 'which crond' or 'ls -la /usr/sbin/cron' and use 'strings' on the binary to look for version identifiers
    Affected if Binary path matches Vixie Cron location and strings output contains version 3.0 or earlier
  5. Confirm environment variables reach cron jobs
    Check if cron allows user-defined environment by examining /etc/crontab or cron.allow/cron.deny files, or test by setting a long environment variable in a crontab entry
    Affected if Cron is configured to accept user crontabs (cron.allow exists or cron.deny is empty) and environment variables are passed to cron jobs

A system is affected if Vixie Cron version 3.0 or earlier (or any version of vixie-cron on Red Hat) is installed and running, allowing local users to exploit untrusted environment variables for privilege escalation.

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 Vixie Cron to a version beyond 3.0 with security patches, or migrate to a modern cron implementation such as cronie or systemd timers. Apply least-privilege principles to limit which users can set environment variables for cron jobs.

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-1999-0297 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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