Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-1999-0985 describes a flaw in the CC Whois CGI program where a web input for a domain name could be abused to run operating-system commands. The record is old and sparse, with no named versions or patch details in the supplied sources.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority only if the CGI is present and reachable. A confirmed exposure could allow host compromise; absence from inventory materially lowers urgency.
Technical view
The vulnerability is in whois.cgi for CC Whois. The CVE description says remote attackers can execute commands through shell metacharacters in the domain entry. No CVSS, CWE, affected version range, or remediation details are provided in the source bundle.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to legacy internet-facing websites still running CC Whois whois.cgi. The supplied data does not identify supported products, versions, packages, or CPEs, so confirmation requires asset and code inventory.
Exploitation context
The source supports remote command execution as the impact. It does not support claims of current active exploitation; the record is not marked CISA KEV in the bundle.
Researcher notes
Evidence is thin: the CVE and X-Force reference provide the core issue, but not affected versions, scoring, patch status, or exploit observations. Avoid extrapolating beyond CC Whois whois.cgi.
Mitigation direction
- Find and disable any exposed CC Whois whois.cgi deployments.
- Replace legacy CGI Whois functionality with maintained software.
- Check vendor or archive guidance for any official fix.
- Restrict access if immediate removal is not possible.
- Review input handling and avoid shell invocation in maintained code.
Validation and detection
- Inventory web roots and CGI directories for whois.cgi.
- Confirm whether any public route serves CC Whois functionality.
- Review source code for domain input passed to shell execution.
- Check web and system logs for suspicious domain-entry activity.
- Document unsupported or unowned legacy CGI assets.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CVE-1999-0985 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/CVE-1999-0985CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.