CVE-2000-1216
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in portmir for AIX 4.3.0 allows local users to corrupt lock files and gain root privileges via the echo_error routine.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in the portmir utility on AIX 4.3.0 allows local unprivileged users to corrupt lock files and escalate to root privileges through the echo_error routine.
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= 4.3.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify AIX version is 4.3.0Run 'oslevel -r' or 'uname -a' to confirm the exact AIX release level. The vulnerability applies only to AIX 4.3.0 specifically.Affected if The installed AIX version is 4.3.0 (not 4.3.1, 4.3.2, or later)
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Locate the portmir utilityRun 'which portmir' or search for it using 'find /usr -name portmir -type f 2>/dev/null'. The binary is typically in /usr/bin/ or /usr/sbin/.Affected if The portmir binary exists on the system
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Confirm portmir is executableRun 'ls -la /usr/bin/portmir' (or the path found above) to check if the file has execute permissions and is not removed or renamed.Affected if The portmir binary exists and has execute permissions for regular users
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Check for active portmir processesRun 'ps -ef | grep -i portmir' to see if portmir is currently running as a daemon or service.Affected if Portmir is actively running on the system
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Examine lock file location and permissionsPortmir uses lock files in /var/spool/locks or similar directories. Check 'ls -la /var/spool/locks/' for files owned by portmir or related to portmir. A successful exploit corrupts these lock files.Affected if Lock files related to portmir exist and are writable by unprivileged users
You are affected only if you are running exactly AIX 4.3.0 AND the portmir utility is present and executable on your system.
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 from AIX 4.3.0 to a supported version or remove/disable the portmir utility if no longer needed; apply IBM security patches if available for this legacy system.
- 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-2000-1216 — 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-2000-1216 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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