CVE-1999-0610 describes a vulnerability in the Webcart CGI program developed by Mountain Network Systems. The issue arises from an incorrect configuration of the Webcart CGI application, which can lead to the unintended disclosure of private information. Specifically, the vulnerability does not stem from a direct software flaw but rather from misconfiguration, which may cause sensitive data to be exposed to unauthorized users. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.0 (medium severity) with the vector AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N, indicating that it is remotely exploitable over the network without authentication, requires low attack complexity, and impacts confidentiality only, without affecting integrity or availability. Since Webcart is a CGI-based web application, the exposure likely involves sensitive information such as customer data, transaction details, or internal configuration files being accessible due to improper access controls or directory permissions. No patches or fixes are available, and there are no known exploits in the wild, suggesting that the vulnerability is either obsolete or has limited practical impact today. However, the risk remains if legacy systems still run this software with incorrect configurations.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability primarily concerns confidentiality breaches. Exposure of private information could lead to data privacy violations, potentially implicating compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Unauthorized disclosure of customer or business data could result in reputational damage, regulatory fines, and loss of customer trust. Although the vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, the confidentiality impact alone is significant, especially for organizations handling sensitive personal or financial data. Since the vulnerability requires no authentication and is remotely exploitable, attackers could potentially access sensitive information without needing credentials, increasing the risk. However, given the age of the vulnerability and lack of known exploits, the practical impact today is likely limited to organizations still operating legacy Webcart CGI applications without proper configuration controls.

Mitigation should focus on correcting the configuration of the Webcart CGI program to ensure that sensitive information is not exposed. Specific steps include: 1) Reviewing and tightening file and directory permissions to restrict access only to authorized users; 2) Implementing proper access controls and authentication mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access to CGI scripts and related data; 3) Disabling or removing legacy Webcart CGI applications if they are no longer needed; 4) Conducting thorough security audits and configuration reviews of all CGI-based web applications to identify and remediate similar misconfigurations; 5) Employing web application firewalls (WAFs) to monitor and block suspicious requests targeting CGI scripts; 6) Ensuring that sensitive data is not stored or transmitted in clear text within web application directories accessible via the web server; 7) If possible, migrating to modern, actively maintained e-commerce platforms with robust security features. Since no patches are available, configuration hardening is the primary defense.