CVE-1999-1138
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 · uneditedSCO UNIX System V/386 Release 3.2, and other SCO products, installs the home directories (1) /tmp for the dos user, and (2) /usr/tmp for the asg user, which allows other users to gain access to those accounts since /tmp and /usr/tmp are world-writable.
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 confidenceIn SCO UNIX System V/386 Release 3.2 and related products, the 'dos' user account has its home directory set to /tmp and the 'asg' user account has its home directory set to /usr/tmp. Since both directories are world-writable, any local user can place malicious files (such as .rhosts, startup scripts, or modify profile configurations) in these directories to gain unauthorized access to those privileged accounts.
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= 1.0= 2.0= 3.0= 3.0= 3.0= system_v386_3.2_operating_system= system_v386_3.2_operating_system_2.0= system_v386_3.2_operating_system_4.0= system_v386_3.2_operating_system_4.xCVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/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.
-
Check if 'dos' user exists and its home directoryUse the command 'grep ^dos /etc/passwd' or 'logins -a' to view the dos user account details and home directory settingAffected if The home directory for the 'dos' user is set to /tmp or any world-writable directory
-
Check if 'asg' user exists and its home directoryUse the command 'grep ^asg /etc/passwd' or 'logins -a' to view the asg user account details and home directory settingAffected if The home directory for the 'asg' user is set to /usr/tmp or any world-writable directory
-
Verify /tmp directory permissionsRun 'ls -ld /tmp' to check if the /tmp directory has world-writable permissions (typically shows 'drwxrwxrwt' or similar with world write bit set)Affected if The /tmp directory is world-writable (mode 1777 or similar with write permission for others)
-
Verify /usr/tmp directory permissions if it existsRun 'ls -ld /usr/tmp' to check if the /usr/tmp directory has world-writable permissionsAffected if The /usr/tmp directory is world-writable and serves as a home directory for any system account
-
Confirm affected product and versionRun 'uname -a' or check system documentation to identify the exact SCO product and version installedAffected if The system is Sco Open Desktop (versions 1.0, 2.0, 3.0), Sco Open Desktop Lite 3.0, Sco Openserver 3.0, or Sco Unix System V/386 3.2 variants
A user is affected if the 'dos' or 'asg' accounts exist with home directories set to world-writable paths like /tmp or /usr/tmp, combined with being on a vulnerable SCO system version.
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 dataAssign secure, user-owned home directories (e.g., /home/dos, /home/asg) with proper ownership (700 or 750 permissions) and ensure these directories are not located within world-writable paths like /tmp or /usr/tmp.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-1138 — 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-1999-1138 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
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.
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.
- 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