# CVE-1999-0042: Memory corruption in n/a

> A buffer overflow in the University of Washington IMAP and POP servers allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not stated
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not stated
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Sep 1999
- **Updated:** 1 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-pfhp-55qw-55j7

## What is CVE-1999-0042?

CVE-1999-0042 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Ibm Aix, published on 29 Sep 1999. It can be exploited over the network.

### Official description

Buffer overflow in University of Washington's implementation of IMAP and POP servers.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-1999-0042?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Bsdi Bsd Os, Caldera Openlinux, Ibm Aix, Redhat Linux, University of Washington Imap, University of Washington Pop.

## How do I fix CVE-1999-0042?

No fix has been published for CVE-1999-0042 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-1999-0042 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-1999-0042 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Linux imapd - Remote Overflow / File Retrieve (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Aix

- [CVE-1999-0323](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0323/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-1999-0165](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0165/): NFS cache poisoning. (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-1999-0798](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0798/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-1999-0879](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0879/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-1999-0002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0002/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-1999-0042 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-1999-0042 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Ibm Aix, published on 29 Sep 1999. It can be exploited over the network.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-1999-0042 exists.

Affected product: Ibm Aix. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0042/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0042/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-1999-0042
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-1999-0042
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-1999-0042

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0042/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.