VDB-14687 · CVE-1999-1496 · XFDB 2277

Todd Miller sudo 1.5 on Debian/Redhat Error Message 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.
3.8	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Todd Miller sudo 1.5 on Debian/Redhat. This affects an unknown part of the component Error Message Handler. The manipulation leads to information disclosure. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-1999-1496. Local access is required to approach this attack. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Todd Miller sudo 1.5 on Debian/Redhat (Operating System Utility Software). It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects an unknown functionality of the component Error Message Handler. The manipulation 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. The summary by CVE is:

Sudo 1.5 in Debian Linux 2.1 and Red Hat 6.0 allows local users to determine the existence of arbitrary files by attempting to execute the target filename as a program, which generates a different error message when the file does not exist.

The weakness was disclosed 06/08/1999 as not defined posting (Bugtraq). It is possible to read the advisory at securityfocus.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-1999-1496. The exploitation is known to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1592 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (2277) and SecurityFocus (BID 321†). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Operating System Utility Software

Vendor

Todd Miller

Name

sudo

Version

License

open-source

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 3.8

VulDB Base Score: 4.0
VulDB Temp Score: 3.8
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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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: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

06/08/1999 🔍
06/08/1999 +0 days 🔍
06/08/1999 +0 days 🔍
06/20/2014 +5491 days 🔍
04/19/2026 +4321 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Advisory: securityfocus.com⛔
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-1999-1496 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-1999-1496
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-14687
X-Force: 2277 - Sudo can be used to determine the existence or absence of files not normally viewable
SecurityFocus: 321 - Sudo Private File Existance Information Leakage Vulnerability

Entryinfo

Created: 06/21/2014 00:55
Updated: 04/19/2026 04:34
Changes: 06/21/2014 00:55 (54), 06/16/2017 09:02 (3), 04/19/2026 04:34 (17)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103