# CVE-1999-1501: SGI IRIX command injection in ipxchk and ipxlink

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-1501-sgi-irix-command-injection-in-ipxchk-and-ipxlink  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 1998-04-08. Updated: 2026-05-10  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-1999-1501 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.6 · Published 1998-04-08

A vulnerability in the SGI IRIX operating system allows local users to gain full administrative (root) control of the system. The issue exists in two utilities, ipxchk and ipxlink, which are used for Novell IPX networking support. By manipulating system environment variables, a standard user can trick these utilities into executing unauthorized commands with elevated privileges.

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

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-1999-1501 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-1999-1501 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-1999-1501?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.6, published 8 April 1998.

**Which products and versions are affected?** SGI IRIX 6.3 O2 R10K 6.3.

**Is there a fix for CVE-1999-1501?** A patch was published on 1998-04-08: Patch SG0002869 released to address the issue. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-1999-1501 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in an operating system.

**Am I affected by CVE-1999-1501?** Check whether you run Sgi Irix. 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 ipxchk and ipxlink binaries in SGI IRIX 6.3 are installed setuid root by default to support Novell IPX networking. These utilities fail to clear or sanitize the Internal Field Separator (IFS) environment variable before making system calls via the system() function. A local attacker can exploit this by setting a custom IFS value to redefine command delimiters, causing the setuid binaries to execute an arbitrary malicious program instead of the intended system utility. While SGI initially attempted to patch this by hardcoding the IFS variable, the final resolution involved removing the setuid bit from ipxlink and removing ipxchk entirely in patch SG0002869.

## Affected products

- SGI IRIX 6.3 O2 R10K 6.3

## Timeline

- 1997-06-01: disclosed: Initial report to SGI by researcher Fabrice Planchon.
- 1998-04-08: advisory: Public disclosure on Bugtraq.
- 1998-04-08: patched: Patch SG0002869 released to address the issue.

## References

- [http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=89217373930054&w=2](http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=89217373930054&w=2)
- [http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70](http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70)
- [http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/71](http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/71)

## Related threats

- [Vulnerability in (1) diskperf and (2) diskalign in IRIX 6.4 allows local attacker to create arbitrary root owned…](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-1492-vulnerability-in-1-diskperf-and-2-diskalign-in-irix-6-4-allows)
- [Vulnerability in (1) diskalign and (2) diskperf in IRIX 6.4 patches 2291 and 2848 allow a local user to create…](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-1039-vulnerability-in-1-diskalign-and-2-diskperf-in-irix-6-4-patches)
- [SGI IRIX buffer overflow in xterm and Xaw](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-0126-sgi-irix-buffer-overflow-in-xterm-and-xaw)
- [SGI IRIX buffer overflow in printers program](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-0108-sgi-irix-buffer-overflow-in-printers-program)
- [SGI IRIX NetWare Client privilege escalation in ipxchk and ipxlink](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-1999-1040-sgi-irix-netware-client-privilege-escalation-in-ipxchk-and-ipxlink)