CVE-1999-0920
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 the pop-2d POP daemon in the IMAP package allows remote attackers to gain privileges via the FOLD 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 · moderate confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in the pop-2d POP daemon in the IMAP package allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges via a specially crafted FOLD command.
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= 4.4all versionsCVSS 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 installed IMAP or POP2 softwareSearch for imapd, pop2d, or uw-imap binaries on the system using 'find / -name "*pop*" -o -name "*imap*" 2>/dev/null' or check common binary locations like /usr/libexec, /usr/sbin, /usr/local/sbinAffected if The University of Washington imapd or pop2d binary is present on the system
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Determine the version of UW IMAPRun the imapd binary with version flags such as 'imapd -v' or 'imapd -version', or check version information in the binary metadata using 'file /path/to/imapd' and inspecting any embedded version strings with 'strings'Affected if The imapd version is 4.4 or if pop2d is found (all versions are affected)
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Verify if the pop-2d daemon is running or configuredCheck running processes for pop2d using 'ps aux | grep pop2' or check system service configuration files in /etc/rc.d/, /etc/init.d/, or systemd unit files for pop2 servicesAffected if The pop-2d daemon process is actively running or configured to start
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Check for network listening on POP portsAudit listening network ports using 'netstat -tlnp' or 'ss -tlnp' and look for ports 109 or 110 (traditional POP2/POP3 ports), noting any pop2d listenersAffected if The system is listening on POP2 port 109 with the vulnerable pop2d service
The system is affected if University of Washington IMAP version 4.4 or any version of pop2d is installed and the pop-2d daemon is running, exposing the FOLD command buffer overflow vulnerability.
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 dataIf affected systems exist, update to patched IMAP versions or migrate to modern mail server implementations; if this legacy software cannot be patched, isolate the system behind a firewall or remove it entirely.
- Consultation4.0 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 $3,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0920 — 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-1999-0920 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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