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QpopperApplication · Qualcomm

CVE-1999-0822

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-11-30
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
Buffer overflow in Qpopper (qpop) 3.0 allows remote root access via AUTH command.

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 Qpopper version 3.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges via a specially crafted AUTH command. The overflow occurs when the AUTH command processes user input without proper bounds checking.

MitigationUpgrade Qpopper to a patched version newer than 3.0, or apply vendor-supplied patches. If upgrade is not possible, consider disabling the AUTH command or implementing network-level access controls to limit exposure.

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
QpopperApplication
Affected:= 3.0= 3.0b20

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. Check if Qpopper is installed
    Look for qpopper binary in common locations: run `which qpopper` or `which popper`, check /usr/sbin/, /usr/local/sbin/, or search with `find / -name "qpopper" -o -name "popper" 2>/dev/null`
    Affected if Qpopper is found on the system
  2. Determine Qpopper version
    Run `qpopper -v` or `qpopper --version` to display version information. Alternatively, check package manager: `rpm -q qpopper` or `dpkg -l | grep qpopper`
    Affected if Version shown is 3.0 or 3.0b20 specifically
  3. Verify AUTH command is available
    Attempt to connect to the POP3 service and issue an AUTH command, or check configuration files in /etc or /etc/qpopper for AUTH-related settings. Review daemon startup scripts for Qpopper to confirm AUTH support is compiled in
    Affected if AUTH command functionality is present and enabled in the Qpopper configuration or binary

The system is affected if Qpopper version 3.0 or 3.0b20 is installed with the AUTH command enabled, as this specific version contains the unbounded buffer in AUTH command processing.

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 Qpopper to a patched version newer than 3.0, or apply vendor-supplied patches. If upgrade is not possible, consider disabling the AUTH command or implementing network-level access controls to limit exposure.

Fix this in Qpopper Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-1999-0822 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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