CVE-1999-1131 in IRIX
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in OSF Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) security demon (secd) in IRIX 6.4 and earlier allows attackers to cause a denial of service via a long principal, group, or organization.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/17/2026
The vulnerability described in CVE-1999-1131 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the OSF Distributed Computing Environment security demon component known as secd. This issue specifically affects IRIX operating systems version 6.4 and earlier, where the security daemon fails to properly validate input lengths when processing authentication credentials. The flaw manifests when the secd process receives principal, group, or organization identifiers that exceed predetermined buffer sizes, creating a condition where attacker-controlled data can overwrite adjacent memory regions. This vulnerability operates at the kernel level within the distributed computing framework, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited to compromise the integrity of the entire security infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the secd daemon's credential processing routines. When the system receives authentication requests containing excessively long identifiers, the buffer management code does not perform proper bounds checking before copying data into fixed-size memory buffers. This classic programming error allows attackers to craft specially formatted principal, group, or organizational names that exceed the allocated buffer space, causing memory corruption that can lead to unpredictable behavior. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes unsafe array indexing conditions, and specifically demonstrates the dangerous intersection of insufficient input validation and memory corruption exploitation. The secd daemon typically runs with elevated privileges to manage distributed security services, making this vulnerability particularly attractive to attackers seeking to escalate privileges or disrupt critical network services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions, as it can potentially allow attackers to execute arbitrary code within the security daemon's process context. When the buffer overflow occurs, it can corrupt critical program variables, return addresses, or function pointers, leading to system crashes or potentially enabling code execution if proper memory layout protections are not in place. The distributed computing environment nature of DCE means that exploitation could affect multiple interconnected systems, creating cascading failures throughout the network infrastructure. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to protected resources or disrupt authentication services that are fundamental to the secure operation of distributed systems. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers local privilege escalation through exploitation of system vulnerabilities, and demonstrates how buffer overflows in security-critical components can provide attackers with significant leverage within enterprise networks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate system updates and patches provided by the operating system vendor, as well as implementing network segmentation to limit exposure of affected systems. System administrators should ensure that all IRIX systems are updated to versions that contain proper bounds checking mechanisms and input validation routines. Additionally, monitoring for unusual authentication patterns or system crashes that could indicate exploitation attempts should be implemented. The vulnerability serves as a prime example of why proper input validation and memory management practices are essential in security-critical software components, and why regular security assessments of distributed computing environments are necessary to identify and remediate similar flaws. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as mandatory access controls and privilege separation to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities even when they are present in the system.