# CVE-1999-0073: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Remote attackers can exploit Telnet environment variable handling to bypass system libraries and gain root access.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Sep 1999
- **Updated:** 8 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g7xr-56w3-vjqh

## What is CVE-1999-0073?

CVE-1999-0073 is a critical vulnerability in Sgi Irix, published on 29 Sep 1999. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Telnet allows a remote client to specify environment variables including LD_LIBRARY_PATH, allowing an attacker to bypass the normal system libraries and gain root access.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-1999-0073?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Digital Osf 1, Digital Unix, Sgi Irix.

## How do I fix CVE-1999-0073?

No fix has been published for CVE-1999-0073 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-1999-0073 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-1999-0073 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Sgi Irix

- [CVE-2002-1127](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1127/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2002-1128](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1128/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-1999-0128](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0128/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-1999-1103](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1103/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 4.6)
- [CVE-1999-0303](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0303/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 4.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-1999-0073 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-1999-0073 is a critical vulnerability in Sgi Irix, published on 29 Sep 1999. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-1999-0073 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Sgi Irix. 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-1999-0073/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0073/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-1999-0073
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-1999-0073
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-1999-0073

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0073/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.