dbcve.org
Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-1999-0381

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-02-26
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
super 3.11.6 and other versions have a buffer overflow in the syslog utility which allows a local user 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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the syslog utility of the 'super' package version 3.11.6 allows a local unprivileged user to execute arbitrary code with root privileges through overflow exploitation.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of the super package, or replace syslog with a modern alternative like rsyslog or syslog-ng; also apply all subsequent security updates for the operating system.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 2.0
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:= 2.6.20.1

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
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. Check if super package is installed
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep super' on Debian systems or 'rpm -qa | grep super' on RPM-based systems to list installed super packages
    Affected if The super package version 3.11.6 is installed
  2. Identify syslog binary source
    Run 'which syslog' and 'ls -la /usr/sbin/syslog' to locate the syslog binary, then check its origin with 'dpkg -S /usr/sbin/syslog' or 'rpm -qf /usr/sbin/syslog'
    Affected if The syslog binary is provided by the super package version 3.11.6
  3. Verify super package version
    Run 'dpkg -l super' or 'rpm -qi super' to obtain the exact installed version number
    Affected if The installed version is 3.11.6 exactly
  4. Check for root-owned syslog process
    Run 'ps aux | grep syslog' and verify if the syslog daemon runs with root privileges
    Affected if The syslog daemon from the super package runs as root and is exploitable via local buffer overflow

A system is affected if the super package version 3.11.6 is installed and its syslog utility is running as root, allowing a local user to potentially execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

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

Update to a patched version of the super package, or replace syslog with a modern alternative like rsyslog or syslog-ng; also apply all subsequent security updates for the operating system.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0381 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-1999-0381 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data