CVE-1999-1549
Lynx Project Lynx — CWE-346
CVSS 7.8 HighEPSS 0.2%
- CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Published: 1999-11-16T05:00:00.000
- Last modified: 2025-04-03T01:03:51.193
- Vendors: Lynx Project
- Products: Lynx
- CWE: CWE-346
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.
Related CVE by CWE
No related CWE found.
Top CVE for Vendor
- CVE-1999-1549 (CVSS 7.8)
Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities
No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.
How to fix CVE-1999-1549
CVE-1999-1549 is a high severity vulnerability affecting Lynx Project Lynx.
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. Related CVE by CWENo related CWE found.Top CVE for VendorCVE-1999-1549 […]
Exploit Difficulty: MEDIUM
⏱️ Time to exploit: 1-4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Intermediate security knowledge
💰 Public exploits: May be available
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running Lynx
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
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. Related CVE by CWENo related CWE found.Top CVE for VendorCVE-1999-1549 […]
Exploit Difficulty: MEDIUM
⏱️ Time to exploit: 1-4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Intermediate security knowledge
💰 Public exploits: May be available
How to Fix:
1 Identify affected systems
- Check if you're running Lynx
2 Immediate actions
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
3 Verification
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
4 Long-term prevention
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
CWE: CWE-346
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
MEDIUM
Time to Exploit: 1-4 hours
Skills Required: Intermediate security knowledge
Public Exploits: May be available
Vulnerability Timeline
Nov 16, 1999
Vulnerability Published
CVE details first published to NVD database
Apr 03, 2025
Last Modified
CVE details were updated
Oct 31, 2025
Imported to Database
Added to this CVE tracking system
Detection Rules & IOCs
No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=94286509804526&w=2 [Exploit, Mailing List]
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/804 [Broken Link, Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, Vendor Advisory]
- http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=94286509804526&w=2 [Exploit, Mailing List]
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/804 [Broken Link, Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, Vendor Advisory]