CVE-1999-0959
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 · uneditedIRIX startmidi program 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 startmidi program in IRIX contains a symlink vulnerability allowing local users to create or modify arbitrary files on the system. By manipulating the program to follow a symbolic link, an attacker with local access can overwrite system files or create files in unintended locations, potentially leading to privilege escalation.
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= 5= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.1= 6.2= 6.3= 6.4CVSS 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 IRIX versionRun 'uname -a' or 'cat /etc/version' to determine the installed IRIX versionAffected if The version matches 5.x, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, or 6.4 from the affected list
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Locate the startmidi programSearch for the startmidi binary using 'find / -name startmidi -type f 2>/dev/null' or check common locations like /usr/sbin/startmidiAffected if The startmidi program exists on the system
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Check startmidi file permissionsRun 'ls -la /path/to/startmidi' to view ownership and permissionsAffected if The file is owned by root and/or has world-writable permissions that allow non-privileged users to execute it
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Verify symlink attack vectorInspect the program's behavior by checking if it creates or writes to files in world-writable locations without proper validation - examine the program with 'strings' or review its man page if availableAffected if The program performs file operations that could follow a maliciously created symbolic link
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Assess local user accessCheck for non-privileged user accounts using 'cat /etc/passwd' and verify local access to the systemAffected if Local unprivileged users exist who could execute the startmidi program
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable IRIX version (5.x through 6.4), contains the startmidi program, and allows local users to execute it with the ability to influence file paths that the program accesses.
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 IRIX is a legacy operating system with limited vendor support, primary remediation involves migrating to a supported platform. If continued IRIX use is required, implement strict file permissions and access controls to prevent local users from exploiting the startmidi program.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-1999-0959 — 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-1999-0959 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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