Sendmail 5.59/5.61/5.65 -oR privileges management

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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Current Exploit Price (≈)
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CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
8.0$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Sendmail 5.59/5.61/5.65. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality. Performing a manipulation of the argument -oR results in privileges management. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-1999-1580. No exploit exists. This vulnerability is considered historic because of its background and reception. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Sendmail 5.59/5.61/5.65 (Mail Server Software). This affects an unknown functionality. The manipulation of the argument -oR with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as 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. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

SunOS sendmail 5.59 through 5.65 uses popen to process a forwarding host argument, which allows local users to gain root privileges by modifying the IFS (Internal Field Separator) variable and passing crafted values to the -oR option.

The weakness was disclosed 08/23/1995 by 8lgm (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at auscert.org.au. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-1999-1580 since 04/21/2005. The exploitability is told to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. No form of authentication is needed for 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). 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.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (20885), SecurityFocus (BID 7829†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-45106†). The entry VDB-13706 is pretty similar. Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

  • Sun SunOS 4.1.1/4.1.2/4.1.3/4.1.4

Productinfo

Type

Name

Version

License

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.0

VulDB Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Temp Score: 8.0
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Privileges management
CWE: CWE-269 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

08/23/1995 🔍
08/23/1995 +0 days 🔍
08/23/1995 +0 days 🔍
09/10/1995 +18 days 🔍
04/21/2005 +3511 days 🔍
06/17/2014 +3344 days 🔍
06/24/2014 +7 days 🔍
04/16/2026 +4314 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Advisory: auscert.org.au
Researcher: 8lgm
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-1999-1580 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-1999-1580
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-13707
CERT: 🔍
X-Force: 20885
SecurityFocus: 7829 - Sendmail V.5 -oR Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Vulnerability Center: 45106 - SunOS Sendmail 5.59 Through 5.65 Local Host Privilege Vulnerability via Modifying the IFS Variable, High

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 06/17/2014 16:34
Updated: 04/16/2026 07:52
Changes: 06/17/2014 16:34 (57), 05/31/2017 09:03 (4), 06/09/2024 01:01 (17), 04/16/2026 07:52 (4)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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

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