# CVE-2000-0959: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks by exploiting improper environment variable clearing in setuid programs using glibc.

- **Severity:** Low 1.2 (`AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **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:** 22 Jan 2001
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wxmg-r7qv-7qf9

## What is CVE-2000-0959?

CVE-2000-0959 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 22 Jan 2001. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

glibc2 does not properly clear the LD_DEBUG_OUTPUT and LD_DEBUG environmental variables when a program is spawned from a setuid program, which could allow local users to overwrite files via a symlink attack.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2000-0959?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Glibc.

## How do I fix CVE-2000-0959?

No fix has been published for CVE-2000-0959 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2000-0959 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2000-0959 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Gnu Glibc

- [CVE-2026-5450](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-5450/): scanf %mc off-by-one heap buffer overflow (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-25139](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25139/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-1999-0199](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-1999-0199/): Other in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-1010022](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1010022/): Security feature bypass in glibc (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2005-3590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3590/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2000-0959 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2000-0959 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Gnu Glibc, published on 22 Jan 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-2000-0959 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gnu Glibc. 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-2000-0959/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0959/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2000-0959
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2000-0959
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2000-0959

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0959/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.