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SolarisOperating system · Sun

CVE-1999-0773

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-05-11
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 Solaris lpset program 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 confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the lpset program on Solaris operating systems. The flaw allows an authenticated local user to exploit the buffer overflow and execute arbitrary code with elevated root privileges, achieving local privilege escalation.

MitigationApply the appropriate Solaris security patch from Oracle (or Sun Microsystems historical patches) to address the buffer overflow in lpset. Alternatively, restrict or disable access to the lpset binary for untrusted local users until patching can be completed.

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
SolarisOperating system
Affected:= 2.6= 7.0
SunosOperating system
Affected:all versions= 5.7

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 the operating system version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'cat /etc/release' to determine if the system is Sun Solaris or SunOS and note the exact version number
    Affected if The system is running Sun Solaris 2.6, Sun Solaris 7.0, SunOS 5.7, or any SunOS version
  2. Locate the lpset binary
    Run 'which lpset' or 'find /usr -name lpset -type f 2>/dev/null' to find the lpset program on the system
    Affected if The lpset binary exists on the system
  3. Check file permissions on lpset
    Run 'ls -la /usr/bin/lpset' (or the path found in step 2) to view owner, group, and world execute permissions
    Affected if World-executable or group-executable permissions allow untrusted local users to run lpset
  4. Verify current user access
    Run 'whoami' to confirm you are a local authenticated user on the system
    Affected if You are an authenticated local user with permission to execute lpset

The system is affected if it runs SunOS or Solaris (versions 2.6, 7.0, or 5.7) and the lpset binary is accessible to untrusted local users, allowing them to potentially escalate privileges to root.

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

Apply the appropriate Solaris security patch from Oracle (or Sun Microsystems historical patches) to address the buffer overflow in lpset. Alternatively, restrict or disable access to the lpset binary for untrusted local users until patching can be completed.

Fix this in Solaris Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,620
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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-1999-0773 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data