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AleosOperating system · Sierrawireless

CVE-2019-11851

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.4.9 / 4.9.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The ACENet service in Sierra Wireless ALEOS before 4.4.9, 4.5.x through 4.9.x before 4.9.5, and 4.10.x through 4.13.x before 4.14.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a buffer overflow.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the ACENet service of Sierra Wireless ALEOS firmware versions prior to 4.4.9, 4.9.5, and 4.14.0. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code without authentication due to improper bounds checking in the ACENet component.

MitigationUpgrade ALEOS firmware to version 4.4.9, 4.9.5, 4.14.0 or later depending on the current version branch. If immediate patching is not possible, consider network segmentation to limit exposure of the ACENet service.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AleosOperating system
Affected:>= 4.10.0, < 4.14.0>= 4.5.0, < 4.9.5< 4.4.9

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify ACENet service status
    Access the device web UI or CLI and check if the ACENet component is enabled. In the web interface, this is typically found under Services or ACENet settings. From CLI, use 'show acenet' or check the service configuration.
    Affected if ACENet is enabled and running on the device. If ACENet is disabled, the vulnerability is not exploitable in this context.
  2. Determine ALEOS firmware version
    Log into the device web UI and check the firmware version displayed on the main status page, or use the CLI command 'show system info' or 'version' to retrieve the installed firmware version.
    Affected if The firmware version is visible and can be compared against the affected ranges.
  3. Compare version against vulnerable ranges
    Check if the installed version falls into any of these ranges: version < 4.4.9; OR >= 4.5.0 and < 4.9.5; OR >= 4.10.0 and < 4.14.0.
    Affected if The installed ALEOS version matches one of these vulnerable ranges: < 4.4.9, 4.5.0-4.9.4, or 4.10.0-4.13.x.

The device is affected if the ACENet service is enabled and the ALEOS firmware version falls below 4.4.9, between 4.5.0-4.9.4, or between 4.10.0-4.13.x.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.4.9 / 4.9.5 / 4.14.0 or later
Fixed in 4.4.94.9.54.14.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade ALEOS firmware to version 4.4.9, 4.9.5, 4.14.0 or later depending on the current version branch. If immediate patching is not possible, consider network segmentation to limit exposure of the ACENet service.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to ALEOS 4.14.0 or later (or the latest available stable release)

  1. 1. Identify the current ALEOS version running on the Sierra Wireless device
  2. 2. If the current version is < 4.4.9, upgrade to version 4.4.9 or later
  3. 3. If the current version is >= 4.5.0 and < 4.9.5, upgrade to version 4.9.5 or later
  4. 4. If the current version is >= 4.10.0 and < 4.14.0, upgrade to version 4.14.0 or later
  5. 5. Obtain the firmware image from the official Sierra Wireless support portal (source.sierrawireless.com or www.sierrawireless.com)
  6. 6. Follow Sierra Wireless standard firmware upgrade procedures for your specific device model
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the ACENet service is running and the new ALEOS version is active
  8. 8. Confirm the vulnerability is no longer present by reviewing release notes for the new version
Caveat Review device-specific release notes for any functionality changes or configuration requirements between your current version and the target version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Aleos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-11851 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data