Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-1999-1494 affects the colorview utility on Silicon Graphics IRIX 5.1, 5.2, and 6.0. A local user could use a program option to read files they should not access. This is mainly a concern for organizations still operating legacy IRIX systems.
Executive priority
Prioritize if legacy IRIX systems remain in production or handle sensitive data. Otherwise, treat as a legacy exposure to confirm during asset reviews.
Technical view
The CVE describes an arbitrary file read in SGI IRIX colorview via the -text argument. The reported attacker position is local. The public record does not provide CVSS, CWE, exploit maturity, or a named patch in the supplied sources.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to legacy Silicon Graphics IRIX 5.1, 5.2, or 6.0 systems where colorview is installed and local user access exists.
Exploitation context
No active exploitation is indicated by KEV, and the supplied sources do not cite current exploitation. Risk depends on whether untrusted local users can access affected IRIX systems.
Researcher notes
The provided record is sparse and old. It names IRIX 5.1, 5.2, and 6.0 and a local arbitrary file read via colorview’s -text argument. No patch, CVSS score, or exploit status is provided in the supplied sources.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory IRIX 5.1, 5.2, and 6.0 systems.
- Check whether colorview is installed or accessible.
- Restrict local shell access to trusted users only.
- Disable or remove colorview if not operationally required.
- Consult SGI/IRIX archival vendor guidance for fixes or workarounds.
- Plan retirement or isolation of unsupported IRIX systems.
Validation and detection
- Confirm operating system version on legacy SGI hosts.
- Verify whether colorview exists on affected systems.
- Review which local users can log in interactively.
- Check compensating controls around sensitive files and legacy hosts.
- Document vendor guidance or absence of available patches.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-1999-1494 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
- sgi-colorview(2112)CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF
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.