CVE-1999-0768: Buffer overflow in Vixie Cron on Red Hat systems via the MAILTO environmental variable.

Security readout for executives and security teams

A very old flaw in the Vixie Cron scheduler on Red Hat Linux allowed a local user to overflow a buffer by setting an oversized MAILTO environment variable. It dates to 1999, well before modern Linux distributions, and is relevant only to legacy systems still running that era's software. There is no indication in the provided sources of current active exploitation. Exposure is limited to legacy Red Hat Linux systems running vulnerable Vixie Cron versions from the late 1990s. Modern supported distributions are not affected. The provided bundle does not enumerate specific affected versions or CPEs. Very low priority for modern environments. Only relevant if legacy Red Hat systems from that era remain in service; otherwise treat as historical record. Mitigation focus: Retire or upgrade any late-1990s Red Hat systems still running unsupported Vixie Cron builds.; Check Red Hat vendor advisories for the historical patched Vixie Cron package appropriate to that platform.; Restrict local shell and cron access to trusted administrators on any legacy host that must remain online..

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.