dbcve.org
IrixOperating system · Sgi

CVE-1999-1485

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-05-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
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
nsd in IRIX 6.5 through 6.5.2 exports a virtual filesystem on a UDP port, which allows remote attackers to view files and cause a possible denial of service by mounting the nsd virtual file system.

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

The nsd daemon in IRIX 6.5 through 6.5.2 exports a virtual filesystem over UDP, allowing remote unauthenticated attackers to view files and potentially cause denial of service by mounting the nsd virtual filesystem.

MitigationDisable the nsd service or block the vulnerable UDP port at the network perimeter; migrate from this legacy IRIX system if possible.

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
IrixOperating system
Affected:= 6.5= 6.5.1= 6.5.2

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
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/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. Confirm IRIX version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'more /etc/version' to check the operating system version
    Affected if The version is 6.5, 6.5.1, or 6.5.2
  2. Check if nsd daemon is installed
    Look for the nsd binary in common paths like /usr/etc/nsd or /sbin/nsd, or use 'ps -ef' to search for nsd processes
    Affected if The nsd daemon binary exists or an nsd process is running
  3. Verify UDP listener for nsd
    Run 'netstat -au' or use 'udpstat' to list UDP services and look for the nsd service listening
    Affected if nsd is bound to a UDP port and accepting connections
  4. Test nsd virtual filesystem access
    Attempt to mount the nsd virtual filesystem from a remote system using 'mount -t nfs <target>:/ /mnt' or similar NFS mount attempt over UDP
    Affected if The mount succeeds or the remote system can enumerate files through the nsd UDP service

You are affected if running IRIX 6.5, 6.5.1, or 6.5.2 with the nsd daemon active and its UDP port accessible on the network

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

Disable the nsd service or block the vulnerable UDP port at the network perimeter; migrate from this legacy IRIX system if possible.

Fix this in Irix Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-1999-1485 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data