CVE-1999-0321
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in Solaris kcms_configure command allows local users to gain root access.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in the kcms_configure command on Solaris systems allows a local authenticated user to execute arbitrary code with root privileges via a specially crafted input that overflows a buffer.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify kcms_configure binary existsLocate the kcms_configure binary on the system using 'find / -name kcms_configure -type f 2>/dev/null' or check common paths like /usr/bin/kcms_configure, /opt/SUNWkcms/bin/kcms_configureAffected if The kcms_configure binary is present on the system
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Check file ownership and permissionsRun 'ls -la <path_to_kcms_configure>' to examine ownership (should ideally not be world-executable) and permissionsAffected if The binary is owned by root and executable by any user (world-readable/executable)
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Determine if the binary is executable by unprivileged usersUse 'ls -l' to check if others or group have execute permissions, or test by attempting to run the command as a non-root userAffected if Non-root users can execute the kcms_configure binary
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Confirm the operating system is Sun SolarisRun 'uname -a' or 'cat /etc/release' to identify the OS and versionAffected if The system is running Sun Solaris (any version)
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Check for available security patchesReview installed patches using 'showrev -p' and compare against Sun's patch database for this vulnerability; note that patches may not exist for end-of-life Solaris versionsAffected if The system lacks appropriate security patches for this vulnerability
A user is affected if they run Sun Solaris with the kcms_configure binary present and accessible to unprivileged local users.
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 dataApply appropriate Solaris patches for this vulnerability; if patches are unavailable due to end-of-life status, remove or disable the kcms_configure binary and ensure proper file permissions restrict access.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0321 — 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-1999-0321 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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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.
- 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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