FreeBSDOperating system
CVE-2019-15878
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 FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE before r352509, 11.3-STABLE before r352509, and 11.3-RELEASE before p9, an unprivileged local user can trigger a use-after-free situation due to improper checking in SCTP when an application tries to update an SCTP-AUTH shared key.
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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in FreeBSD's SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) implementation due to improper bounds checking when an application attempts to update an SCTP-AUTH shared key. An unprivileged local user can trigger this condition, potentially leading to denial of service or privilege escalation.
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
FreeBSDOperating system
= 11.3= 12.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 FreeBSD versionRun 'uname -r' or check /etc/os-release to obtain the installed FreeBSD versionAffected if The version is 11.3-RELEASE, 11.3-STABLE (prior to r352509), 12.1-STABLE (prior to r352509), or matches the exact affected versions listed (11.3 or 12.1)
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Verify SCTP kernel module statusRun 'kldstat | grep sctp' or check if SCTP is listed in /boot/loader.conf as 'sctp_load=yes'Affected if The SCTP module is loaded or SCTP is enabled in the kernel configuration
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Check for SCTP-AUTH feature usageInspect application configurations or system settings for SCTP-AUTH shared key configurations (typically found in sctp_sysctl.json or via 'sysctl net.sctp.auth_enable')Affected if SCTP-AUTH is enabled (net.sctp.auth_enable is set to 1) and shared keys are configured for SCTP associations
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Identify active SCTP associationsRun 'netstat -s -p sctp' or 'sctp_status' command if available to list active SCTP connectionsAffected if There are active SCTP associations using authentication (SCTP-AUTH)
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Review SCTP-related system callsExamine process logs or audit records for SCTP_AUTH_KEY_API or sctp_generic_recvmsg operations indicating SCTP-AUTH key updatesAffected if Applications are performing SCTP-AUTH shared key updates (setsockopt with SCTP_AUTH_KEY)
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable FreeBSD version (11.3 or 12.1) AND has SCTP enabled with SCTP-AUTH shared key functionality in use, allowing an unprivileged local user to trigger the use-after-free condition.
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 dataApply the vendor patch by updating to FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE r352509, 11.3-STABLE r352509, 11.3-RELEASE p9 or later. Alternatively, disable SCTP if not required.
Fix this in FreeBSD
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15878 — 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-2019-15878 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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