Quick answers
- Is CVE-1999-0031 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-0031 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-1999-0031?
- Low severity, with a CVSS score of 2.6, published 8 July 1997.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x, 4.x; Netscape Navigator 2.x, 3.x, 4.x.
- Is there a fix for CVE-1999-0031?
- No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
- How is CVE-1999-0031 attacked?
- It is attacked over the network, in a web application.
- Am I affected by CVE-1999-0031?
- Check whether you run Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.
Technical details
This vulnerability, historically referred to as the 'Bell Labs vulnerability,' stems from a flaw in the JavaScript implementation of early web browsers. It allows a remote attacker to bypass certain privacy boundaries to monitor a user's web activities across different sessions or windows. The attack is delivered via a malicious webpage containing specific JavaScript code. While it does not allow for remote code execution or direct data theft from the local system, it facilitates unauthorized tracking of user navigation and browsing history. This issue affected Internet Explorer versions 3.x and 4.x, as well as Netscape versions 2.x through 4.x.
Affected products
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x, 4.x
- Netscape Navigator 2.x, 3.x, 4.x
Timeline
- 1997-07-08: disclosed: Initial publication of the vulnerability details.