CVE-1999-0911
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in ProFTPD, wu-ftpd, and beroftpd allows remote attackers to gain root access via a series of MKD and CWD commands that create nested directories.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in ProFTPD, wu-ftpd, and beroftpd allows remote attackers to gain root privileges via specially crafted MKD (make directory) and CWD (change working directory) commands that create deeply nested directory structures, causing a buffer overflow when the server processes the pathname.
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= 1.2_pre1= 1.2_pre2= 1.2_pre3= 1.2_pre4= 1.2_pre5CVSS 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 ProFTPD versionRun 'proftpd -v' or check the FTP server banner using 'ftp localhost' or 'nc -v <server> 21'Affected if The version displayed is 1.2_pre1, 1.2_pre2, 1.2_pre3, 1.2_pre4, or 1.2_pre5
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Verify FTP service is runningCheck for running FTP processes using 'ps aux | grep ftp' or check if port 21 is listening with 'netstat -an | grep :21' or 'ss -tlnp | grep :21'Affected if Port 21 is open and an FTP server process is active
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Confirm network accessibility of FTPCheck if port 21 is exposed to network using 'nmap -p 21 <your_ip>' or review firewall rules with 'iptables -L' or 'firewall-cmd --list-all'Affected if The FTP port is accessible from network hosts beyond localhost
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Check for anonymous FTP accessReview FTP configuration file (commonly /etc/proftpd.conf or /etc/ftpaccess) for 'Anonymous' user directivesAffected if Anonymous FTP access is enabled in the configuration
Your environment is affected if ProFTPD version 1.2_pre1 through 1.2_pre5 is running and the FTP service is network-accessible.
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 dataUpgrade affected FTP servers to patched versions or migrate to modern, supported FTP server implementations. If legacy systems must maintain these FTP services, implement network segmentation and restrict FTP access to trusted sources only.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0911 — 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-1999-0911 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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- 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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