finger .@host information disclosure

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.
9.4$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in finger and classified as problematic. This affects an unknown function. The manipulation of the argument .@host leads to information disclosure. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-1999-0198. No exploit exists. This vulnerability has a historic impact because of its background and how it was received. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in finger (the affected version unknown) and classified as critical. This issue affects an unknown part. The manipulation of the argument .@host with an unknown input leads to a information disclosure vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-200. The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

finger .@host on some systems may print information on some user accounts.

The weakness was disclosed 01/01/1999. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-1999-0198. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/26/2025). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1592 for this issue. Due to its background and reception, this vulnerability has a historic impact.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 10072 (Finger [email protected] Unused Account Disclosure), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Misc. and running in the context r. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 31001 (Finger .@" Information about Logged Users Disclosure Vulnerability).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. Attack attempts may be identified with Snort ID 333.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (8378), Tenable (10072) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-4411†). The entry VDB-14296 is pretty similar. Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

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: Information disclosure
CWE: CWE-200 / CWE-284 / 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: 10072
Nessus Name: Finger [email protected] Unused Account Disclosure
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: 333
Snort Message: PROTOCOL-FINGER . query
Snort Class: 🔍

Suricata ID: 2100333
Suricata Class: 🔍
Suricata Message: 🔍
McAfee IPS: 🔍
McAfee IPS Version: 🔍

Timelineinfo

01/01/1999 🔍
01/01/1999 +0 days 🔍
01/01/1999 +0 days 🔍
06/22/1999 +172 days 🔍
06/08/2004 +1813 days 🔍
06/19/2014 +3663 days 🔍
10/26/2025 +4147 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-1999-0198 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-1999-0198
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-14297
X-Force: 8378
Vulnerability Center: 4411 - \x27.@host\x27 Request in Finger Service Discloses User Account Information, Low

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 06/19/2014 23:11
Updated: 10/26/2025 09:37
Changes: 06/19/2014 23:11 (38), 05/21/2019 18:32 (28), 10/26/2025 09:37 (20)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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

Discussion

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