Is CVE-1999-0038 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-0038 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-1999-0038?

High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.4, published 26 April 1997.

Which products and versions are affected?

Sun Solaris 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.5.1; Sun SunOS 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.5.1.

Is there a fix for CVE-1999-0038?

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-1999-0038 attacked?

It is attacked with local access, in an operating system.

Am I affected by CVE-1999-0038?

Check whether anything you run is named in the advisory. 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.

CVE-1999-0038: Sun Solaris xlock buffer overflow privilege escalation

CVE-1999-0038 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.4 · Published 1997-04-26

A security vulnerability exists in the xlock program, a utility used to lock terminal screens on Unix-based systems. A local user with access to the system can exploit this flaw to bypass security restrictions and execute commands with administrative (root) privileges. This could lead to a complete takeover of the affected machine and unauthorized access to all stored data.

Quick answers

Is CVE-1999-0038 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-0038 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-1999-0038?: High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.4, published 26 April 1997.
Which products and versions are affected?: Sun Solaris 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.5.1; Sun SunOS 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.5.1.
Is there a fix for CVE-1999-0038?: 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-1999-0038 attacked?: It is attacked with local access, in an operating system.
Am I affected by CVE-1999-0038?: Check whether anything you run is named in the advisory. 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

The xlock program contains a classic buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-120) due to insufficient bounds checking on input data. Because xlock often runs with elevated privileges to manage screen locking and authentication, an attacker can provide specially crafted input to overflow a buffer and overwrite memory. This allows a local, unprivileged user to hijack the program's execution flow and execute arbitrary code with root privileges. The vulnerability is exploitable locally without requiring user interaction or prior administrative permissions.

Affected products

Sun Solaris 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.5.1
Sun SunOS 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.5.1

Timeline

1997-04-26: disclosed: Initial publication date in NVD

References

https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/CVE-1999-0038

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