CVE-1999-0708: Buffer overflow in cfingerd allows local users to gain root privileges via a long GECOS field.

Security readout for executives and security teams

A flaw in the cfingerd service (a Unix finger daemon) lets a user who already has a local account on the system take full administrator control by supplying an unusually long value in a user profile field. In plain terms, an ordinary logged-in user could become "root" on that server. The bug is very old (published in 2000) and affects only systems that installed the vulnerable cfingerd package. Exposure is minimal in modern environments. cfingerd is a niche, legacy finger daemon rarely deployed today, and the flaw requires an existing local account. Any organization still running unpatched cfingerd from that era on a multi-user Unix host would be exposed, but such systems are uncommon outside of historical or research environments. Very low priority for most modern organizations. Treat as legacy hygiene: confirm cfingerd is not installed on any Unix system in inventory. If discovered, remove or upgrade during routine maintenance. No emergency response is warranted based on the cited public sources. Mitigation focus: Inventory Unix hosts for any cfingerd installation and remove it if not required.; If cfingerd is required, upgrade to a maintained release per vendor or distribution guidance.; Disable or firewall the finger service where it is not a business need..

Prepared

Jul 12, 2026, 06:26 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.