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Cobalt RaqApplication · Sun

CVE-1999-0408

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-02-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Files created from interactive shell sessions in Cobalt RaQ microservers (e.g. .bash_history) are world readable, and thus are accessible from the web server.

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

The Cobalt RaQ microserver creates shell history files (such as .bash_history) from interactive sessions with world-readable permissions (typically 644), allowing remote attackers to retrieve sensitive command history via the web server by requesting these files directly.

MitigationRestrict read permissions on shell history files (chmod 600 ~/.bash_history) and configure the shell to create history files with restrictive permissions (e.g., set HISTFILE to a file with 600 permissions or use HISTFILE=/dev/null for sensitive environments).

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
Cobalt RaqApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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 if the system is a Sun Cobalt RaQ
    Run 'uname -a' or check /etc/os-release to see if the hostname or OS identifies as Cobalt RaQ
    Affected if The system is a Sun Cobalt RaQ microserver
  2. Locate .bash_history files in user home directories
    Run 'find /home -name .bash_history 2>/dev/null' to find shell history files
    Affected if Any .bash_history files exist on the system
  3. Check permissions on shell history files
    Run 'ls -la /home/*/.bash_history' or 'ls -la ~/' + '.bash_history' for each user to check if permissions are 644 (world-readable)
    Affected if Any .bash_history file has permissions 644 or wider (e.g., 655, 666)
  4. Check if web server can serve hidden files from document root
    Review web server configuration (typically in /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf or similar) to see if there are restrictions preventing access to files starting with '.'
    Affected if The web server configuration allows serving files from user directories or document root without blocking hidden files

A user is affected if they run a Sun Cobalt RaQ system where .bash_history files exist with world-readable permissions and the web server can serve these files directly.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict read permissions on shell history files (chmod 600 ~/.bash_history) and configure the shell to create history files with restrictive permissions (e.g., set HISTFILE to a file with 600 permissions or use HISTFILE=/dev/null for sensitive environments).

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Change permissions on shell history files (e.g., .bash_history, .history, .sh_history) to restrict read access to the owner only: chmod 600 ~/.bash_history (or the appropriate history file for the shell in use)
  2. Review and fix permissions on all hidden files in user home directories that may contain sensitive information: chmod 600 ~/.*
  3. Configure the web server (Apache or the embedded web server) to deny access to all files and directories starting with a dot (dotfiles). For Apache, ensure the following directive is present in the relevant <Directory> or .htaccess: RewriteEngine On; RewriteRule ^\. - [F]
  4. Alternatively, add a global rule to block access to dotfiles: <FilesMatch '^\.'> Order allow,deny Deny from all </FilesMatch>
  5. Verify that the web server no longer serves .bash_history or other dotfiles by attempting to access http://server/.bash_history
  6. Ensure new shell sessions create history files with restrictive permissions (e.g., add 'HISTFILE=~/.bash_history; chmod 600 $HISTFILE' to /etc/profile or user shell initialization)

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Cobalt Raq Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $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-1999-0408 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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