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FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-1999-0964

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2000-01-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Buffer overflow in FreeBSD setlocale in the libc module allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long PATH_LOCALE environment variable.

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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in FreeBSD's setlocale function within the libc module allows attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution by supplying an overly long PATH_LOCALE environment variable.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched FreeBSD release or apply vendor-supplied patches for the setlocale buffer overflow in libc. Modern FreeBSD versions include the fix.

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
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:= 2.1.6

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the operating system
    Run 'uname -s' or check /etc/os-release to confirm the system is FreeBSD
    Affected if The system is not FreeBSD - this CVE only affects FreeBSD
  2. Determine the FreeBSD version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /usr/include/osreldate.h for the release version number
    Affected if The version is 2.1.6 or earlier (including 2.1.0 through 2.1.6)
  3. Check for PATH_LOCALE environment variable usage
    Run 'env | grep PATH_LOCALE' to see if this environment variable is set in the current shell session
    Affected if PATH_LOCALE is set and contains a long string (the overflow occurs when a very long value is supplied)
  4. Verify libc module version or patch level
    Check /lib/libc.so.* or run 'ldd --version' to inspect the libc version. For 2.1.x systems, the unpatched libc.so.4 contains the vulnerable setlocale code
    Affected if The libc version corresponds to an unpatched FreeBSD 2.1.6 or earlier release

A FreeBSD system at version 2.1.6 or earlier with the PATH_LOCALE environment variable in use is vulnerable to arbitrary code execution via the setlocale buffer overflow in libc.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched FreeBSD release or apply vendor-supplied patches for the setlocale buffer overflow in libc. Modern FreeBSD versions include the fix.

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-1999-0964 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data