CVE-1999-0988
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 · uneditedUnixWare pkgtrans allows local users to read 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 · moderate confidenceThe pkgtrans utility in SCO UnixWare 7.x contains a symlink vulnerability allowing local users to read arbitrary files on the system. By creating a symlink to a target file and running pkgtrans, attackers can cause the utility to follow the symlink and expose sensitive file contents that should be protected.
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= 2.0= 2.0.3= 2.1= 7.0= 7.0.1= 7.1= 7.1.1= 7.1.16CVSS 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 SCO UnixWare versionRun 'uname -a' or check /etc/*release* to determine the exact UnixWare versionAffected if The version matches 2.0, 2.0.3, 2.1, 7.0, 7.0.1, 7.1, 7.1.1, or 7.1.16
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Locate the pkgtrans binaryRun 'which pkgtrans' or search for it in /sbin and /usr/sbin directoriesAffected if The pkgtrans binary exists on the system and is executable by the user in question
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Verify pkgtrans execution permissionsRun 'ls -la /sbin/pkgtrans' or 'ls -la /usr/sbin/pkgtrans' to view file ownership and permissionsAffected if pkgtrans is executable by untrusted users (world-readable or group-readable with accessible groups)
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Check for symlink creation capabilityDetermine if untrusted users can create symlinks in directories where pkgtrans writes or processes files (common locations include /tmp, /var/tmp, or current working directory)Affected if Untrusted users have write access to directories that pkgtrans uses for temporary files or package output
A user is affected if the system runs one of the listed UnixWare versions AND pkgtrans is executable by untrusted users who can create symlinks in directories where pkgtrans processes files.
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 dataRestrict execution permissions on pkgtrans to trusted users only, or replace the vulnerable binary with a patched version if available. For end-of-life UnixWare systems, migrate to a supported operating system.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-1999-0988 — 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-1999-0988 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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