Unix Trust Relationship /etc/hosts.equiv 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.
9.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as critical has been found in Unix. Affected is an unknown function of the file /etc/hosts.equiv of the component Trust Relationship Handler. Executing a manipulation can lead to privileges management. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-1999-0515. No exploit exists. This vulnerability is historically impactful due to its background and the reception it garnered. Configuration settings should be changed.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Unix (Operating System) (the affected version unknown) and classified as very critical. This vulnerability affects an unknown part of the file /etc/hosts.equiv of the component Trust Relationship Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

An unrestricted remote trust relationship for Unix systems has been set up, e.g. by using a + sign in /etc/hosts.equiv.

The weakness was disclosed 01/01/1999. This vulnerability was named CVE-1999-0515. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 04/17/2026). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1068. This vulnerability has a historic impact due to its background and reception.

As 0-day the estimated underground price was around $25k-$100k.

It is possible to mitigate the problem by applying the configuration setting .

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (111) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-986†). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Name

License

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.6

VulDB Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Temp Score: 9.6
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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Saint ID: exploit_info/cisco_prime_lms_auth_handling
Saint Name: rsh Excessive Trust Vulnerability

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Config
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

01/01/1999 🔍
01/01/1999 +0 days 🔍
01/01/1999 +0 days 🔍
02/23/2003 +1514 days 🔍
06/19/2014 +4134 days 🔍
04/17/2026 +4320 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Status: Not defined

CVE: CVE-1999-0515 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-1999-0515
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-14332
X-Force: 111
Vulnerability Center: 986 - Unrestricted Unix Remote Trust Relationship, Low

Entryinfo

Created: 06/20/2014 00:41
Updated: 04/17/2026 22:15
Changes: 06/20/2014 00:41 (37), 05/09/2019 17:00 (19), 04/17/2026 22:15 (16)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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