Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2000-0995 is an old privilege-escalation flaw in OpenBSD’s yp_passwd program. A malformed user name could let an attacker gain root privileges. The public record also says other BSD-based systems may be affected, but does not confirm specific products or versions.
Executive priority
Prioritize if legacy BSD or NIS infrastructure exists. The business risk is root compromise on affected hosts, but urgency depends on whether this old component is still deployed.
Technical view
The issue is described as a format string vulnerability in OpenBSD yp_passwd, possibly affecting other BSD-derived operating systems. The stated impact is root privilege gain through a malformed name. The provided sources do not include CVSS, affected version ranges, patch identifiers, or detailed prerequisites.
Likely exposure
Most likely exposure is legacy BSD/OpenBSD systems that include or use yp_passwd, especially where NIS/YP password functionality remains enabled. Modern systems may be unaffected, but the source data does not define fixed versions.
Exploitation context
The sources do not state active exploitation, and this CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided bundle. Public details are limited, but root privilege escalation makes any confirmed exposure important.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse. The CVE description and IBM X-Force entry identify the vulnerable program and impact, but not affected versions, exploit maturity, or remediation details. Avoid broad claims beyond OpenBSD and possible BSD-derived systems.
Mitigation direction
- Identify systems running OpenBSD or BSD-derived yp_passwd/NIS components.
- Check historical vendor advisories and package changelogs for fixed yp_passwd versions.
- Disable unused NIS/YP password functionality where operationally safe.
- Retire or isolate unsupported legacy BSD systems.
Validation and detection
- Inventory BSD/OpenBSD hosts and confirm whether yp_passwd is present.
- Determine whether NIS/YP services or password-change tooling are enabled.
- Compare installed OS and packages against vendor security guidance.
- Document compensating controls for unsupported systems.
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-2000-0995 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
- bsd-yp-passwd-format(5635)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.