CVE-1999-0961
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 · uneditedHPUX sysdiag allows local users to gain root privileges via a symlink attack during log file creation.
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 sysdiag utility on HP-UX creates log files in a predictable location without properly checking if a file already exists or if a symlink is present. A local attacker can create a symlink with the expected log filename pointing to a sensitive system file (such as /etc/passwd or /etc/shadow). When sysdiag runs with root privileges, it follows the symlink and overwrites the target file, allowing privilege escalation to root.
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= 9.04= 9.05CVSS 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
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:H/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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Verify HP-UX versionRun 'uname -a' or 'uname -r' to check the operating system version. Look for HP-UX versions 9.04 or 9.05 specifically.Affected if Running HP-UX version 9.04 or 9.05
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Locate sysdiag binaryRun 'which sysdiag' or 'find / -name sysdiag -type f 2>/dev/null' to locate the sysdiag utility on the system.Affected if The sysdiag binary exists on the system
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Check sysdiag ownership and permissionsRun 'ls -la /usr/sbin/sysdiag' (or the path found above) to see owner, group, and permission bits. Also check if it has the setuid bit set using 'ls -la'.Affected if sysdiag is owned by root and has setuid permissions, allowing execution with root privileges
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Identify log file locationRun 'strings /usr/sbin/sysdiag' (if accessible) to search for log file paths, or check common locations like /var/adm/sysdiag/, /var/log/, or /tmp/ for log files created by sysdiag.Affected if sysdiag creates log files in a world-writable directory without checking for existing symlinks
A system is affected if it runs HP-UX 9.04 or 9.05 with the sysdiag utility present and executable with root privileges, creating log files in predictable locations vulnerable to symlink 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 dataModify sysdiag to use safe file creation practices: open files with O_EXCL flag to prevent symlink attacks, verify files do not already exist before creation, or use a secure temporary directory with restricted permissions. Consider applying HP security patches if available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0961 — 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-1999-0961 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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