# CVE-1999-1549: Command injection in n/a

> A local attacker can craft a malicious URL to modify configuration files and execute arbitrary commands in the Lynx text browser.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **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-cgjq-p4q9-cfj7

## What is CVE-1999-1549?

CVE-1999-1549 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, 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

Lynx 2.x does not properly distinguish between internal and external HTML, which may allow a local attacker to read a "secure" hidden form value from a temporary file and craft a LYNXOPTIONS: URL that causes Lynx to modify the user's configuration file and execute commands.

Weakness: CWE-346 (Origin Validation Error)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-1999-1549?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Lynx Project Lynx.

## How do I fix CVE-1999-1549?

No fix has been published for CVE-1999-1549 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-1999-1549 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-1999-1549 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2014-5002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-5002/): lynx doesn't properly sanitize user input and exposes database password to unauthorized users (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-1000211](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000211/): Use after free in n/a (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-1999-1549 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-1999-1549 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Sep 2001. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-1999-1549 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-1999-1549/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1549/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-1999-1549
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-1999-1549
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-1999-1549

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-1549/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.