CVE-2019-14278
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 · uneditedIn Knowage through 6.1.1, an unauthenticated user can enumerated valid usernames via the ChangePwdServlet page.
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 confidenceKnowage through version 6.1.1 contains an information disclosure vulnerability in the ChangePwdServlet where an unauthenticated attacker can determine whether specific usernames exist in the system by observing different responses from the password change endpoint. This username enumeration could facilitate brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks.
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<= 6.1.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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.
-
Identify Knowage installation locationLocate the Knowage web application directory or access the Knowage login page. Common paths include /knowage, /knowage-suite, or the default Tomcat/webapps directory.Affected if Knowage is deployed and accessible via web
-
Determine installed Knowage versionCheck the Knowage version by accessing the login page footer, the About section in the admin panel, or by inspecting the manifest file (MANIFEST.MF) in the Knowage web application archive.Affected if The installed version is 6.1.1 or any earlier version (6.x.x <= 6.1.1)
-
Locate the ChangePwdServlet endpointIdentify if the ChangePwdServlet is accessible. The endpoint typically responds at /knowage/ChangePwdServlet or /knowage-suite/ChangePwdServlet. Verify the servlet exists by attempting to access it directly via HTTP.Affected if The ChangePwdServlet is exposed and accessible without authentication
-
Test for username enumerationSend two POST requests to the ChangePwdServlet password change endpoint: one with a known-valid username and one with a random/invalid username. Compare the HTTP status codes and response messages/times for differences.Affected if The endpoint returns notably different responses (different error messages, different HTTP status codes, or measurably different response times) for valid versus invalid usernames
A user is affected if their Knowage installation is version 6.1.1 or earlier and the ChangePwdServlet endpoint returns different responses for valid versus invalid usernames, enabling unauthenticated username enumeration.
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 dataImplement uniform error responses for both valid and invalid usernames in ChangePwdServlet, and consider adding rate limiting or CAPTCHA to prevent automated enumeration.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-14278 — 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-2019-14278 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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