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CVE-1999-1165GNU fingerd 1.37 does not properly drop privileges before accessing user information, which could allow local users to (1) gain root…
- 7.2HighCVSS base score
- 0.46%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 60% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
GNU fingerd 1.37 does not properly drop privileges before accessing user information, which could allow local users to (1) gain root privileges via a malicious program in the .fingerrc file, or (2) read arbitrary files via symbolic links from .plan, .forward, or .project files.
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
- 12 days later
· 12 days later
Published
- 23 years later
· 23 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | High7.2 | AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.46% · top 60% of all CVEs (12 Nov 2026)
Loading the EPSS history…
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.2.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
References3
- 535 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- 19990721 old gnu finger bugs (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQx_transferred
- 19950317 GNU finger 1.37 executes ~/.fingerrc with gid root (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-1999-1146 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-1999-1165)Record last updated .