CVE-1999-1120 is a vulnerability found in the netprint utility of SGI IRIX operating system versions 5.3 through 6.4 and earlier. The issue arises because netprint trusts the PATH environment variable when locating and executing the 'disable' program. This trust allows a local user to manipulate the PATH variable to point to a malicious executable named 'disable' placed in a directory they control. When netprint runs, it inadvertently executes this malicious program with elevated privileges, enabling the attacker to gain unauthorized privilege escalation on the system. The vulnerability is local, requiring the attacker to have access to the system to exploit it. The CVSS v2 score is 4.6 (medium severity), reflecting the limited attack vector (local), low complexity, no authentication required, and partial impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Patches are available from SGI via FTP links provided in the advisory, addressing this issue by correcting how netprint locates the disable program, likely by using absolute paths or sanitizing the environment variables before execution.

For European organizations that still operate legacy SGI IRIX systems, this vulnerability poses a risk of local privilege escalation. An attacker with local access—such as a disgruntled employee, contractor, or someone who gains physical or remote shell access—could exploit this flaw to elevate their privileges, potentially gaining root access. This could lead to unauthorized system modifications, data breaches, or disruption of printing services critical to business operations. Although the vulnerability is relatively old and affects legacy systems, some industrial, research, or specialized environments in Europe might still rely on IRIX systems. The impact is thus limited to organizations with such legacy infrastructure. However, the compromise of such systems could serve as a foothold for lateral movement within a network, especially in environments where IRIX systems interface with other critical infrastructure.

European organizations should first identify any SGI IRIX systems in their environment, particularly versions 5.3 through 6.4 and earlier. For affected systems, immediate application of the official patches provided by SGI is recommended to remediate the vulnerability. If patching is not feasible due to operational constraints, organizations should restrict local access to these systems strictly, ensuring only trusted personnel have login capabilities. Additionally, system administrators can mitigate risk by sanitizing environment variables, especially PATH, before running netprint or by modifying netprint to use absolute paths for executing the disable program. Monitoring and auditing local user activities on these systems can help detect any attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Finally, organizations should consider migrating away from legacy IRIX systems to supported platforms to reduce exposure to such outdated vulnerabilities.