CVE-1999-0769

vixie_cron - Command Injection via MAILTO Environmental Variable

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-1999-0769. PoCs published by Olaf Kirch.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages a vulnerability in Vixie Cron where the MAILTO environment variable is passed unsanitized to sendmail, allowing arbitrary command-line arguments to be injected. By setting a malicious MAILTO value and a custom sendmail configuration file, an attacker can execute commands as root.

Description

Vixie Cron on Linux systems allows local users to set parameters of sendmail commands via the MAILTO environmental variable.

Exploits (1)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Olaf Kirch · textlocallinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/19474

This exploit leverages a vulnerability in Vixie Cron where the MAILTO environment variable is passed unsanitized to sendmail, allowing arbitrary command-line arguments to be injected. By setting a malicious MAILTO value and a custom sendmail configuration file, an attacker can execute commands as root.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Vixie Cron (Caldera OpenLinux 2.2, Debian Linux 2.1/2.2, RedHat Linux <= 6.0)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Local user access · Ability to modify crontab · Write access to /tmp directory
mistral-large-3 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (1)

Core 1
Core References
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/611

Scores

EPSS 0.0080
EPSS Percentile 53.1%

Details

Status published
Products (11)
caldera/openlinux 2.2
debian/debian_linux 2.1
debian/debian_linux 2.2
paul_vixie/vixie_cron 3.0_pl1
redhat/linux 4.0
redhat/linux 4.1
redhat/linux 4.2
redhat/linux 5.0
redhat/linux 5.1
redhat/linux 5.2
... and 1 more
Published Aug 25, 1999
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026