CVE-2019-12797
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 · uneditedA clone version of an ELM327 OBD2 Bluetooth device has a hardcoded PIN, leading to arbitrary commands to an OBD-II bus of a vehicle.
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 · moderate confidenceA clone/fake ELM327 OBD-II Bluetooth dongle contains a hardcoded PIN that cannot be changed, allowing any attacker within Bluetooth range to connect to the device and send arbitrary commands directly to the vehicle's OBD-II bus. This bus interfaces with critical vehicle systems including engine, transmission, and safety controls, enabling potential vehicle theft or manipulation of safety-critical functions.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify ELM327 Bluetooth devices in useCheck paired Bluetooth devices on any system that interfaces with vehicle OBD-II (laptops, tablets, dedicated scan tools). Look for Bluetooth devices with names containing 'ELM327', 'OBD', 'Vgate', 'Scanmaster', or similar OBD-II adapter names.Affected if Any Bluetooth-paired ELM327 or ELM327-compatible OBD-II adapter is present in the environment
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Inspect physical device brandingExamine the actual OBD-II adapter hardware connected to the vehicle's diagnostic port. Look for: absence of Elm Electronics branding, generic 'ELM327' labeling without company logo, misspellings on the device, unusual physical quality or weight differences from expected hardware.Affected if The device shows signs of being a counterfeit or clone (no official Elm Electronics branding, generic packaging, or suspicious markings)
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Check if device PIN is changeableAccess the device's Bluetooth configuration settings through companion mobile apps or AT commands. Attempt to navigate to security/PIN settings and verify if the PIN can be modified or if it remains fixed at a default value.Affected if The PIN cannot be changed and remains at a default value (such as 0000, 1234, or 000000)
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Verify firmware sourceIf accessible via AT command interface, send 'ATI' command to query the firmware identification. Compare the reported manufacturer and firmware version against official Elm Electronics product documentation.Affected if Firmware reports as cloned, generic, or from a source other than Elm Electronics (e.g., common clone identifiers like 'V2.1' without proper Elm Electronics versioning)
If a Bluetooth OBD-II adapter is in use and it is a clone/fake ELM327 device with a hardcoded, unchangeable PIN, the environment is vulnerable to unauthorized Bluetooth connections and OBD-II bus manipulation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataReplace all clone ELM327 Bluetooth devices with genuine, reputable OBD-II diagnostic tools from trusted manufacturers that support proper authentication. For fleet operators, implement procurement policies requiring verified supply chains and consider network isolation for connected vehicle endpoints.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-12797 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-12797 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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