CVE-1999-0655 in Host
Summary
by MITRE
** REJECT ** DO NOT USE THIS CANDIDATE NUMBER. ConsultIDs: None. Reason: this candidate is not about any specific product, protocol, or design, so it is out of scope of CVE. Notes: the former description is: "A service may include useful information in its banner or help function (such as the name and version), making it useful for information gathering activities."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/23/2025
This CVE entry represents an invalid candidate number that was rejected by the CVE Numbering Authority due to its lack of specificity and scope. The original description referenced a general class of information disclosure vulnerabilities where services expose version information or other identifying details through their banners or help functions. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of information leakage that can aid attackers in their reconnaissance activities. The rejection of this candidate number demonstrates the CVE system's strict requirements for specificity in vulnerability identification, as general observations about service behavior without concrete technical details or affected products do not meet the criteria for formal CVE assignment.
The technical flaw described in the rejected CVE relates to the improper exposure of service identification information during initial connection phases or help command execution. When services present their version numbers, operating system details, or other metadata in response to connection attempts or help queries, they inadvertently provide attackers with valuable reconnaissance data. This information can be used to identify specific software versions, which may contain known vulnerabilities or weaknesses that can be exploited through targeted attacks. The vulnerability essentially represents a failure to implement proper information hiding principles in service design and configuration.
The operational impact of such information disclosure vulnerabilities extends beyond simple reconnaissance. Attackers can leverage the exposed version information to build targeted attack strategies, including identifying specific exploits that may be available for the discovered software versions. This can significantly reduce the time and effort required for initial penetration testing phases, as the reconnaissance process becomes automated through simple connection attempts. The vulnerability can also contribute to broader attack surface enumeration efforts, where multiple services across a network can be quickly catalogued and prioritized based on their exposed identifying characteristics.
From a security standards perspective, this type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which covers "Information Exposure," and could potentially map to ATT&CK technique T1012, "Query Registry" or T1082, "System Information Discovery" when used in conjunction with other reconnaissance techniques. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of implementing proper service hardening practices, including disabling or modifying banner responses, removing version information from help functions, and ensuring that services do not provide unnecessary identifying details during initial connection phases. Organizations should implement configuration management processes that specifically address service identification exposure and establish monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized information disclosure patterns.
The rejection of this CVE candidate number underscores the importance of precise vulnerability identification within the cybersecurity community. The CVE system requires specific, reproducible vulnerabilities affecting particular products or implementations rather than general observations about security practices. This requirement ensures that vulnerability databases remain useful for security professionals who need to assess specific risks to their systems and implement targeted remediation measures. The example demonstrates how the CVE process serves as a quality control mechanism to prevent the proliferation of overly broad or non-specific vulnerability descriptions that would not be actionable for security teams or software vendors.
Organizations should maintain awareness of information disclosure risks in their service configurations and implement proper hardening procedures. This includes configuring services to minimize information exposure, implementing network segmentation to limit reconnaissance capabilities, and establishing security monitoring that can detect unusual information gathering activities. The vulnerability serves as a reminder that even seemingly benign service behaviors can contribute to overall system security weaknesses when they provide attackers with useful reconnaissance data. Proper security posture requires systematic review of service configurations to ensure that identification information is not unnecessarily exposed to external parties.