Quick answers
- Is CVE-1999-0242 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-0242 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-1999-0242?
- High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 1 March 1995.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- Linux Linux Legacy versions using shadow passwords and POP3.
- Is there a fix for CVE-1999-0242?
- 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-1999-0242 attacked?
- It is attacked over the network, in an operating system.
- Am I affected by CVE-1999-0242?
- Check whether you run 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
This vulnerability involves an authentication or access control bypass in the POP3 service on legacy Linux distributions. When shadow passwords are implemented, the POP3 daemon may fail to properly validate credentials or restrict access to mail spools. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this flaw over the network to read or manipulate mail files. The issue is specific to the interaction between the POP3 service and the shadow password suite on affected systems. Information regarding specific patched versions is limited due to the age of the advisory.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Legacy versions using shadow passwords and POP3
Timeline
- 1995-03-01: disclosed: Initial publication date reported by NVD.