# CVE-1999-0685: Memory corruption in n/a

> A buffer overflow in Netscape Communicator allows remote code execution via malicious EMBED tags, requiring user interaction to visit a crafted page.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.1 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Jan 2000
- **Updated:** 1 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qr94-86r9-f9hg

## What is CVE-1999-0685?

CVE-1999-0685 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 4 Jan 2000. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Buffer overflow in Netscape Communicator via EMBED tags in the pluginspage option.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-1999-0685?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Netscape Communicator.

## How do I fix CVE-1999-0685?

No fix has been published for CVE-1999-0685 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-1999-0685 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-1999-0685 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Netscape Communicator 4.06/4.5/4.6/4.51/4.61 - EMBED Buffer Overflow (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2002-2248](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-2248/): Buffer overflow in the sun.awt.windows.WDefaultFontCharset Java class implementation in Netscape 4.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbi (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-1999-1189](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1189/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2001-0596](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-0596/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-1999-1357](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1357/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2000-1187](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-1187/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-1999-0685 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-1999-0685 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 4 Jan 2000. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-1999-0685 exists.

Affected product: n/a. 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-1999-0685/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0685/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-1999-0685
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-1999-0685
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-1999-0685

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0685/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.