# CVE-1999-1543: Weak cryptography in n/a

> Weak encryption in macOS password storage allows attackers with local access to recover user credentials.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Sep 2001
- **Updated:** 1 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4cvf-99qg-vwq4

## What is CVE-1999-1543?

CVE-1999-1543 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Macos, published on 12 Sep 2001. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

MacOS uses weak encryption for passwords that are stored in the Users & Groups Data File.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-1999-1543?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apple Macos.

## How do I fix CVE-1999-1543?

No fix has been published for CVE-1999-1543 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-1999-1543 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-1999-1543 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Apple Mac OS 8 8.6 - Weak Password Encryption (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Macos

- [CVE-2026-65400](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-65400/): Apple macOS Improper Authentication (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-44146](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44146/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2024-44148](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44148/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2023-38586](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38586/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2023-40455](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40455/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-1999-1543 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-1999-1543 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Macos, published on 12 Sep 2001. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-1999-1543 exists.

Affected product: Apple Macos. 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-1999-1543/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1543/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-1999-1543
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-1999-1543
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-1999-1543

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1543/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.