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LinuxOperating system · Redhat

CVE-1999-1328

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-12-31
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
linuxconf before 1.11.r11-rh3 on Red Hat Linux 5.1 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files and gain root access 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 · high confidence

linuxconf before version 1.11.r11-rh3 on Red Hat Linux 5.1 contains a symlink vulnerability where the application creates files in predictable locations without proper symlink checks, allowing a local unprivileged user to create a malicious symlink that causes linuxconf to overwrite arbitrary files with root privileges.

MitigationUpgrade linuxconf to version 1.11.r11-rh3 or later, or remove/disable the linuxconf package if not required on the system.

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
LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 5.1

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. Check if linuxconf package is installed
    On Red Hat Linux 5.1, run 'rpm -q linuxconf' or check for the presence of the linuxconf binary in /usr/sbin/linuxconf
    Affected if The package is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed linuxconf version
    Run 'rpm -q --queryformat "%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE}" linuxconf' or use 'linuxconf --version' if available
    Affected if The version returned is lower than 1.11.r11-rh3 or the command fails (package too old to query)
  3. Identify linuxconf file creation behavior
    Review linuxconf configuration files in /etc/linuxconf/ or examine startup scripts in /etc/rc.d/ that invoke linuxconf for any automated file creation operations
    Affected if Linuxconf is configured to create files in world-writable directories without symlink protection
  4. Check for world-writable temp directories
    Inspect directories where linuxconf may create files, such as /tmp or /var/tmp, for any existing symlinks pointing to sensitive system files
    Affected if A symlink exists in a linuxconf temporary or log directory pointing to a system file and was created by a non-root user

A user is affected if linuxconf version 1.11.r11-rh3 or earlier is installed on Red Hat Linux 5.1 and the application creates files in predictable locations accessible to unprivileged users.

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 linuxconf to version 1.11.r11-rh3 or later, or remove/disable the linuxconf package if not required on the system.

Fix this in Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-1999-1328 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
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