CVE-2019-15678
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 · uneditedTightVNC code version 1.3.10 contains heap buffer overflow in rfbServerCutText handler, which can potentially result code execution.. This attack appear to be exploitable via network connectivity.
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 confidenceTightVNC 1.3.10 contains a heap buffer overflow in the rfbServerCutText handler, which processes clipboard (cut text) messages between VNC server and client. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking on the length field in the cut text message, allowing an attacker to overflow the heap memory and potentially achieve arbitrary code execution via network connectivity.
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= 1.3.10CVSS 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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Check if TightVNC is installedOn Windows: Check Program Files for TightVNC folder, or use 'wmic product get name,version' | findstr TightVNC. On Linux: check package manager (dpkg -l, rpm -qa) for tightvnc packages.Affected if TightVNC software is present on the system
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Identify the installed TightVNC versionOn Windows: Run 'C:\Program Files\TightVNC\tvncserver.exe -v' or check Add/Remove Programs. On Linux: Run 'tightvncserver -version' or check the package version.Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.3.10
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Verify the VNC server component is runningOn Windows: Check Services snap-in for TightVNC Server service, or run 'sc query tvnserver'. On Linux: check for running Xvnc or tightvncserver processes with 'ps aux | grep -i vnc'.Affected if The TightVNC Server service or daemon is actively running
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Confirm network accessibility of the VNC serviceCheck if port 5900 (default VNC) is listening: run 'netstat -an | findstr 5900' on Windows or 'ss -tlnp | grep 5900' on Linux. Verify firewall rules allow inbound connections.Affected if The VNC server is listening on a network-exposed port and accessible to remote attackers
The environment is affected if TightVNC version 1.3.10 is installed with the VNC server component running and network-accessible, enabling the heap overflow via malicious clipboard messages.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of TightVNC if available, or migrate to a currently-supported VNC implementation with active security maintenance.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $4,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15678 — 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-2019-15678 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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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