Sun Solaris 2.2 Audio Device /dev/audio privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Sun Solaris 2.2 and classified as problematic. Impacted is an unknown function of the file /dev/audio of the component Audio Device Handler. The manipulation leads to privileges management. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-1999-1137. No exploit exists. This vulnerability is considered historic because of its background and reception. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Sun Solaris 2.2 (Operating System) and classified as problematic. This issue affects an unknown part of the file /dev/audio of the component Audio Device Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. Impacted is confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

The permissions for the /dev/audio device on Solaris 2.2 and earlier, and SunOS 4.1.x, allow any local user to read from the device, which could be used by an attacker to monitor conversations happening near a machine that has a microphone.

The weakness was disclosed 10/01/1993 by Mark Graff as confirmed advisory (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at sunsolve.sun.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-1999-1137. The exploitation is known to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 04/16/2026). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product decreasing in the near future.The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1068 according to MITRE ATT&CK. Due to its background and reception, this vulnerability has a historic impact. This is one of the earliest microphone eavesdropping vulnerabilities.

After immediately, there has been an exploit disclosed.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (549) and OSVDB (6436†). ciac.org is providing further details. The entry VDB-13785 is pretty similar. Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Sun SunOS 4.1/5.0

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Sun

Name

• Solaris

Version

• 2.2

License

• commercial

Support

• end of life (old version)

Website

• Vendor: https://www.oracle.com/sun/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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