CVE-1999-0836
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 · uneditedUnixWare uidadmin allows local users to modify arbitrary files via a symlink attack.
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 confidenceThe uidadmin utility in UnixWare contains a symlink vulnerability allowing local users to manipulate the application into modifying arbitrary files on the system. An attacker with local access can create symbolic links that the privileged uidadmin process will follow, potentially overwriting system files or configuration files to escalate privileges.
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= 7.0= 7.0.1= 7.1= 7.1.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify UnixWare versionRun 'uname -a' or check /etc/os-release to confirm the operating system is UnixWare and note the exact version number (7.0, 7.0.1, 7.1, or 7.1.1)Affected if The system runs Sco UnixWare version 7.0, 7.0.1, 7.1, or 7.1.1
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Locate uidadmin binarySearch for the uidadmin executable using 'find / -name uidadmin -type f 2>/dev/null' or check common system utility directoriesAffected if The uidadmin utility is present on the system
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Check uidadmin file permissionsRun 'ls -la /path/to/uidadmin' to examine ownership and permissions. Check if the binary is setuid root or owned by root with world/group execute permissionsAffected if uidadmin has setuid root permissions or is executable by non-root users
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Verify symlink attack vectorCheck for world-writable directories where untrusted users could create symbolic links (common locations include /tmp, /var/tmp, or application-specific directories). Attempt to confirm if uidadmin follows symlinks during its operationAffected if World-writable directories exist on the system and uidadmin follows symbolic links during file operations
A user is affected if their system runs Sco UnixWare 7.0-7.1.1 with the uidadmin utility present and executable by non-root users, combined with writable directories that permit symlink creation.
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 dataSince UnixWare is a legacy operating system no longer supported, the primary remediation is to retire the affected system or isolate it from production networks. If continued use is required, restrict execution permissions on uidadmin to root-only and implement strict file system access controls to prevent symlink creation in writable directories.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0836 — 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-1999-0836 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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