# CVE-1999-1399: Spacetec SpaceWare privilege escalation in spaceball program

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-1399-spacetec-spaceware-privilege-escalation-in-spaceball-program  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 1997-08-20. Updated: 2026-05-10  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-1999-1399 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.2 · Published 1997-08-20

A vulnerability in the SpaceWare driver software for IRIX systems allows a local user to take complete control of the computer. By manipulating a specific system setting, an attacker can trick the software into running unauthorized commands with administrative privileges. This could lead to a total compromise of the system, including the theft of sensitive data or the installation of malicious software.

Technologies: [Sgi Irix](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/irix). Vendors: [Sgi](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/sgi).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-1999-1399 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-1399 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-1999-1399?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.2, published 20 August 1997.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Spacetec SpaceWare 7.3 v1.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-1999-1399?** 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-1999-1399 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-1999-1399?** Check whether you run Sgi Irix or Spacetec SpaceWare 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

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the spaceball utility within SpaceWare 7.3 v1.0 on SGI IRIX 6.2. The application fails to properly sanitize or validate the HOSTNAME environment variable before using it in a manner that leads to command execution. A local, unprivileged attacker can set the HOSTNAME variable to contain arbitrary shell commands and then execute the spaceball program. Because the program runs with elevated privileges (likely setuid root or via a privileged script), the injected commands are executed as the root user. This allows for full system compromise, including unauthorized file modification and administrative access.

## Affected products

- Spacetec SpaceWare 7.3 v1.0
- SGI IRIX 6.2

## Timeline

- 1997-08-20: disclosed: Initial disclosure on Bugtraq mailing list
- 1997-08-20: advisory: NVD publication date

## References

- [http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=87602746719552&w=2](http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=87602746719552&w=2)
- [http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/471](http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/471)

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