dbcve.org
HTTP ServerWeb server / proxy · Apache

CVE-1999-1412

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-06-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
A possible interaction between Apple MacOS X release 1.0 and Apache HTTP server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a flood of HTTP GET requests to CGI programs, which generates a large number of processes.

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

On Apple MacOS X release 1.0, the Apache HTTP server is vulnerable to a denial of service attack where remote attackers crash the server by sending a flood of HTTP GET requests to CGI programs, causing excessive process spawning that overwhelms the system.

MitigationUpgrade from the obsolete MacOS X 1.0 to a supported operating system version; implement process limits, request rate limiting, or CGI timeout configurations in Apache to prevent process exhaustion.

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
HTTP ServerWeb server / proxy
Affected:all versions
macOSOperating system
Affected:= 1.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the operating system version
    Run 'sw_vers' or check System Preferences > About to identify the macOS version. Look for build number 4K78 or similar indicating MacOS X 1.0 (Public Beta or release 1.0)
    Affected if The system is running MacOS X 1.0 (also known as MacOS X 10.0) - only this specific version is affected
  2. Verify Apache HTTP Server is installed
    Check for Apache by running 'httpd -v' or looking for /usr/sbin/httpd, or check if the service is running with 'ps aux | grep httpd'
    Affected if Apache HTTP Server is installed and running on the system
  3. Determine if CGI module is enabled
    Check the Apache configuration files (typically /etc/httpd/httpd.conf or /etc/apache2/apache2.conf) for 'LoadModule cgi_module' or examine if the CGI module is loaded using 'httpd -M' 2>/dev/null | grep cgi
    Affected if CGI module (mod_cgi) is loaded and CGI handling is enabled in the Apache configuration
  4. Identify active CGI scripts
    Review the Apache configuration for ScriptAlias directives (e.g., 'ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/') and list the contents of any configured CGI directories to see what CGI programs are accessible
    Affected if CGI scripts are configured and accessible via HTTP, making them vulnerable to the attack vector described in the CVE
  5. Check Apache process configuration
    Examine httpd.conf for directives related to process limits: Look for MinSpareServers, MaxSpareServers, StartServers, MaxClients, or similar worker configuration directives that control CGI process spawning
    Affected if Apache is configured to spawn CGI processes without sufficient limits configured, allowing the exhaustion condition to occur

The system is affected if it is running MacOS X 1.0 with Apache HTTP Server installed and CGI functionality enabled, allowing remote attackers to crash the server through excessive CGI process spawning.

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 from the obsolete MacOS X 1.0 to a supported operating system version; implement process limits, request rate limiting, or CGI timeout configurations in Apache to prevent process exhaustion.

Fix this in HTTP Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-1999-1412 — 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-1999-1412 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