CVE-1999-0864
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 programs that dump core allow a local user to modify files via a symlink attack on the ./core.pid file.
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 confidenceIn UnixWare, programs that generate core dump files create them with predictable names (./core.pid) without checking if the file already exists or is a symlink. A local attacker can preemptively create a symlink with the expected core filename, causing the program's core dump to write to an arbitrary file the attacker specifies, leading to privilege escalation or data corruption.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the operating system versionRun 'uname -a' or check /etc/os-release to confirm the OS is Sco UnixWare and obtain the exact version number (e.g., 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 and core dumps are enabled
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Determine if core dumps are enabledRun 'ulimit -c' to check the core dump size limit. A value greater than 0 means core dumps are enabled. Also check system-wide core dump configuration in /etc/default/init or via 'coreadm' if availableAffected if Core dump size limit is set to unlimited or a non-zero value, indicating core dumps can be generated
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Inspect core dump directory permissionsCheck the directory where core dumps are written (typically the current working directory or /var/core) using 'ls -ld' to verify permissionsAffected if The core dump directory is world-writable or writable by untrusted user groups, allowing symlink manipulation
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Check for suspicious symlinksSearch for symlinks named 'core.*' in directories where programs typically execute or dump core files, using 'find / -type l -name "core.*" 2>/dev/null'Affected if Any symlinks matching the pattern 'core.pid' exist in executable or temporary directories, indicating potential exploitation setup
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Verify core dump file creation behaviorReview the application's documentation or source code (if available) to confirm it creates core dumps using the predictable ./core.pid naming scheme without O_EXCL flag validationAffected if The program generates core files using predictable filenames in the current working directory without checking for existing files or symlinks
A system is affected if it runs Sco UnixWare 7.0-7.1.1, has core dumps enabled, and allows untrusted users to write to directories where core dumps are created, enabling symlink-based file overwrite attacks.
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 dataConfigure core dumps to use safe file creation methods (O_EXCL flag) or store them in protected directories with restricted permissions to prevent symlink manipulation. Consider disabling core dumps in production or using secure temporary directories.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0864 — 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-1999-0864 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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