Security readout for executives and security teams
This is a legacy local privilege-escalation flaw in the BSD passwd utility. A user who already has local access could potentially make passwd mishandle an overly long shell or GECOS value and gain root privileges. The sources do not show internet-facing exposure or confirmed active exploitation. Exposure is most plausible on very old BSD-derived systems, embedded appliances, lab hosts, or preserved legacy environments still using affected passwd code. Modern systems are not established as affected by the provided sources. Prioritize remediation where legacy BSD systems still host sensitive data, support production workflows, or allow multiple local users. This is not a broad internet emergency based on the provided evidence, but local root escalation on an exposed legacy host is serious. Mitigation focus: Inventory legacy BSD-derived hosts and appliances.; Check vendor or CERT guidance for fixed passwd packages or OS updates.; Retire or isolate unsupported BSD 4.3-era systems..
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
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CVE-1999-1471 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
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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
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
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