dbcve.org
SunosOperating system · Sun

CVE-1999-0966

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 1997-01-27
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 Solaris getopt in libc allows local users to gain root privileges via a long argv[0].

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 confidence

Buffer overflow in the getopt() function in Solaris libc allows local users to escalate privileges to root by providing an overly long argv[0] string. The vulnerability exists in a standard library function used for command-line argument parsing.

MitigationApply vendor patches for Solaris systems; given this is a 1999 vulnerability, all supported Solaris versions should have this issue addressed. Consider upgrading legacy Solaris systems to supported versions.

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
SunosOperating system
Affected:= 5.5

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 Solaris/SunOS version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'cat /etc/release' to determine the exact OS version
    Affected if The system is SunOS/Solaris 5.5 (also known as Solaris 2.5)
  2. Check the libc version
    Run 'ldd -v /bin/sh' or check the libc shared library file directly with 'ls -la /lib/libc.so*'
    Affected if The libc library is the unpatched version from Solaris 5.5 that contains the vulnerable getopt() function
  3. Identify setuid programs that use getopt
    Run 'find / -perm -4000 -o -perm -2000' 2>/dev/null to list setuid/setgid programs, then check their binary dependencies with 'pmap' or 'ldd' to see if they link against the vulnerable libc
    Affected if A setuid/setgid program is linked against the vulnerable Solaris 5.5 libc and uses getopt() for argument parsing
  4. Verify getopt usage in privileged programs
    Examine source code or use 'strings' on suspected setuid programs to look for getopt() function calls
    Affected if A setuid root program invokes getopt() and could be exploited through an overly long argv[0] argument

You are affected if your system is running SunOS/Solaris 5.5 (or an unpatched derivative) and has setuid programs that utilize the vulnerable getopt() function from the standard C library.

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

Apply vendor patches for Solaris systems; given this is a 1999 vulnerability, all supported Solaris versions should have this issue addressed. Consider upgrading legacy Solaris systems to supported versions.

Fix this in Sunos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-0966 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-1999-0966 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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