IBM AIX 3.1/4.1/4.2 Talkd DNS Information privileges management

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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9.4$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as critical has been identified in IBM AIX 3.1/4.1/4.2. The affected element is an unknown function of the component Talkd. Such manipulation as part of DNS Information leads to privileges management. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-1999-0048. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in IBM AIX 3.1/4.1/4.2 (Operating System). Affected by this issue is an unknown code block of the component Talkd. The manipulation as part of a DNS Information 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, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

Talkd, when given corrupt DNS information, can be used to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.

The issue has been introduced in 02/01/1990. The weakness was shared 01/27/1997 (Website). The advisory is shared for download at sunsolve.sun.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-1999-0048. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 04/16/2026). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product decreasing in the near future.The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1068.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 2552 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $5k-$25k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 10168 , which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 38400 (Sun Solaris talkd Buffer Overflow Vulnerability).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (453), Tenable (10168) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-199†). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.4

VulDB Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Temp Score: 9.4
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: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 10168

OpenVAS ID: 10168
OpenVAS Name: Detect talkd server port and protocol version
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍
McAfee IPS: 🔍
McAfee IPS Version: 🔍

Timelineinfo

02/01/1990 🔍
01/27/1997 +2552 days 🔍
01/27/1997 +0 days 🔍
01/27/1997 +0 days 🔍
10/23/2002 +2095 days 🔍
06/17/2014 +4255 days 🔍
04/16/2026 +4321 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: ibm.com

Advisory: sunsolve.sun.com⛔
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-1999-0048 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-1999-0048
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-13844
X-Force: 453
Vulnerability Center: 199 - Talkd with Corrupted DNS Information Enables Arbitrary Command Execution as Root, Critical

Entryinfo

Created: 06/18/2014 00:43
Updated: 04/16/2026 14:34
Changes: 06/18/2014 00:43 (63), 05/05/2019 14:42 (2), 10/28/2025 03:41 (20), 04/16/2026 14:34 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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