VDB-14049 · CVE-1999-0279 · XFDB 1418

Excite EWS 1.1 Metacharacter privileges management

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	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.
7.0	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Excite EWS 1.1. It has been rated as critical. This affects an unknown part. Performing a manipulation as part of Metacharacter results in privileges management. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-1999-0279. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Excite EWS 1.1. This affects an unknown function. The manipulation as part of a Metacharacter 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:

excite for web servers (ews) allows remote command execution via shell metacharacters.

The weakness was shared 01/01/1998. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-1999-0279. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1068 for this issue.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 10064 (Excite for Web Server architext_query.pl Shell Metacharacter Arbitrary Command Execution), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family CGI abuses and running in the context r. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 10202 (Excite for Web Servers 1.1 (EWS) CGI Vulnerabilities).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. Attack attempts may be identified with Snort ID 1173. Furthermore it is possible to detect and prevent this kind of attack with TippingPoint and the filter 717.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (1418), Tenable (10064), SecurityFocus (BID 2248†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-247†). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

Excite

Name

Version

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.0

VulDB Base Score: 7.3
VulDB Temp Score: 7.0
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

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: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 10064
Nessus Name: Excite for Web Server architext_query.pl Shell Metacharacter Arbitrary Command Execution
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍
Snort ID: 1173
Snort Message: SERVER-WEBAPP architext_query.pl access
Snort Class: 🔍
TippingPoint: 🔍
SourceFire IPS: 🔍

Timelineinfo

01/01/1998 🔍
01/01/1998 +0 days 🔍
01/01/1998 +0 days 🔍
01/16/1998 +15 days 🔍
08/20/1999 +581 days 🔍
11/25/2002 +1193 days 🔍
06/18/2014 +4223 days 🔍
10/26/2025 +4148 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-1999-0279 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-1999-0279
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-14049
X-Force: 1418
SecurityFocus: 2248 - Excite for Web Servers 1.1 Command Execution Vulnerability
Vulnerability Center: 247 - EWS cmd exec, High

Entryinfo

Created: 06/18/2014 18:07
Updated: 10/26/2025 02:47
Changes: 06/18/2014 18:07 (64), 05/05/2019 18:19 (3), 10/26/2025 02:47 (20)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.