Quick answers
- Is CVE-1999-0123 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-0123 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-1999-0123?
- Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.7, published 1 December 1995.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- Linux mailx.
- Is there a fix for CVE-1999-0123?
- 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-1999-0123 attacked?
- It is attacked with local access, in an operating system.
- Am I affected by CVE-1999-0123?
- Check whether you run Linux Mailx or Slackware Linux. 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
A race condition exists in the Linux mailx command. By exploiting a window of time during file operations, a local authenticated user can perform a symlink attack or similar race-based maneuver to intercept or read files they do not have permission to access. The attack requires local access and specific timing (High Access Complexity), resulting in a partial impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This is a legacy vulnerability originally identified in 1995.
Affected products
- Linux mailx
Timeline
- 1995-12-01: disclosed: Initial publication date in NVD