LinuxOperating system · Redhat
CVE-1999-1333
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 · uneditedautomatic download option in ncftp 2.4.2 FTP client in Red Hat Linux 5.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in the names of files that are to be downloaded.
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 confidenceThe ncftp 2.4.2 client for Red Hat Linux 5.0 and earlier contained a command injection vulnerability in its automatic download feature. When processing filenames received from a remote FTP server, the client failed to sanitize shell metacharacters (such as ;, |, `, or $()), allowing an attacker controlling a malicious FTP server to inject and execute arbitrary commands on the client system through specially crafted filenames.
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
<= 5.0CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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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Verify ncftp is installedRun `which ncftp` or `rpm -q ncftp` to check if the ncftp client exists on the systemAffected if ncftp is not installed, the system is not affected by this vulnerability
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Determine ncftp versionRun `ncftp -V` or `rpm -q --info ncftp` to retrieve the installed version numberAffected if version is 2.4.2 or lower, the client contains the vulnerable code
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Confirm Red Hat versionCheck `/etc/redhat-release` or run `uname -r` to identify the Red Hat Linux versionAffected if Red Hat Linux 5.0 or earlier is in use, the specific affected platform configuration applies
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Assess automatic download usageReview ncftp configuration files (typically ~/.ncftp/*) or examine typical user behavior with ncftp for automatic/recursive downloads (using flags like -R or the bookmark auto-download feature)Affected if automatic download functionality is actively used, the vulnerability can be triggered when connecting to malicious servers
The system is affected if ncftp version 2.4.2 or lower is installed on Red Hat Linux 5.0 or earlier AND the automatic download feature is used to retrieve files from untrusted FTP servers.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of ncftp that properly sanitizes filenames before shell interpretation, or avoid using the automatic download feature with untrusted FTP servers. For legacy systems, disable automatic downloads and manually inspect all filenames before retrieval.
Fix this in Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-1333 — 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-1999-1333 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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