CVE Catalog

CVE-1999-1434

High
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Elevated risk
0.79%

51th percentile - higher than 51% of all known CVEs

Summary

Slackware Linux versions 3.2 through 3.5 do not properly check for the presence of the /etc/group file. When it is missing, the system fails to drop privileges, resulting in root privileges being assigned to any local user logging onto the server.

Risk Assessment

The lack of proper checking for the /etc/group file poses a serious risk, as any local user can gain full administrator privileges, potentially leading to unauthorized access and damage to the system.

Recommendation

It is recommended to upgrade to a newer version of Slackware that fixes the /etc/group file checking and implements appropriate security mechanisms.

Related vulnerabilities

Original NVD description (English source)

login in Slackware Linux 3.2 through 3.5 does not properly check for an error when the /etc/group file is missing, which prevents it from dropping privileges, causing it to assign root privileges to any local user who logs on to the server.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS