CVE-1999-1052 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Microsoft FrontPage, a web development tool popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The vulnerability arises because FrontPage stores form submission results in a default file located at /_private/form_results.txt within the web server's document root. This file is world-readable, meaning that any remote attacker can access it without authentication simply by requesting the file via HTTP. The exposed file may contain sensitive information submitted by users through web forms, such as personal data, contact details, or other confidential inputs. The vulnerability does not allow modification or deletion of data (no integrity or availability impact), but it compromises confidentiality by exposing potentially sensitive user-submitted information. The attack vector is network-based, requiring no authentication or user interaction, and the vulnerability is relatively easy to exploit given the file's predictable location and permissions. Although this vulnerability dates back to 1999 and no patches are available, it remains relevant in legacy systems still running FrontPage extensions or websites created with FrontPage that have not been updated or secured. The CVSS score of 5.0 reflects a medium risk, primarily due to confidentiality impact without integrity or availability consequences.

For European organizations, the primary impact is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user data collected via web forms on vulnerable FrontPage-based websites. This can lead to privacy violations under regulations such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), potentially resulting in legal penalties and reputational damage. Organizations handling personal data, customer inquiries, or internal submissions via FrontPage forms are at risk of data leakage. Although the vulnerability does not allow attackers to alter or disrupt services, the exposure of confidential information can undermine trust and lead to secondary attacks such as phishing or social engineering. Given the age of the vulnerability, it is most relevant to organizations still operating legacy web infrastructure or archival sites. The impact is less severe for organizations that have migrated away from FrontPage or use modern web platforms with proper access controls.

Specific mitigation steps include: 1) Identify and audit any web servers still running Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions or hosting FrontPage-generated sites. 2) Remove or restrict access to the /_private directory and specifically the form_results.txt file by configuring web server access controls (e.g., using .htaccess rules or IIS configuration) to deny all external HTTP requests to this path. 3) Migrate legacy FrontPage sites to modern, supported web platforms that do not store form data in world-readable locations. 4) If migration is not immediately possible, implement network-level restrictions such as firewall rules to block external access to the vulnerable paths. 5) Educate web administrators about the risks of default file locations and the importance of securing sensitive data storage. 6) Regularly scan web servers for exposed sensitive files and conduct penetration testing focused on legacy vulnerabilities. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific file and directory involved and the legacy nature of the software.