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FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-2019-15880

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-05-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
In FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE before r356911, and 12.1-RELEASE before p5, insufficient checking in the cryptodev module allocated the size of a kernel buffer based on a user-supplied length allowing an unprivileged process to trigger a kernel panic.

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 size validation vulnerability in FreeBSD 12.1's cryptodev module allows unprivileged processes to trigger kernel panic by supplying arbitrary length values that control kernel buffer allocation, without proper bounds checking.

MitigationApply FreeBSD security patch r356911 (for STABLE) or p5 (for RELEASE), or upgrade to a patched FreeBSD 12.1 version to remediate the insufficient length validation in the cryptodev module.

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
Affected:= 12.1

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. Check FreeBSD version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'freebsd-version -k' to confirm the kernel version
    Affected if The version shown is exactly 12.1 (freebsd-version -k shows 12.1-RELEASE or similar)
  2. Verify cryptodev module availability
    Run 'kldstat -v | grep cryptodev' or check if /dev/crypto exists
    Affected if The cryptodev module is loaded or the /dev/crypto device is present in the system
  3. Confirm cryptodev is accessible
    Run 'ls -la /dev/crypto' to verify the device node exists and is readable
    Affected if The /dev/crypto device exists and is accessible to processes
  4. Check active crypto sessions
    Run 'cryptoctl' or examine /dev/crypto for active sessions using utilities like opensc or similar crypto tools
    Affected if Any process can potentially interact with the cryptodev interface to trigger the flaw

A system is affected if it runs FreeBSD 12.1 with the cryptodev module loaded and /dev/crypto accessible, as the vulnerability allows any unprivileged process to trigger kernel panic via the cryptodev interface.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply FreeBSD security patch r356911 (for STABLE) or p5 (for RELEASE), or upgrade to a patched FreeBSD 12.1 version to remediate the insufficient length validation in the cryptodev module.

Recommended fix High confidence

FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE p5 or later, or FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE after r356911

  1. Confirm current FreeBSD version using: freebsd-version -u or uname -a
  2. If running FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE before p5, update to patch level 5 or later using: freebsd-update fetch install or pkg upgrade
  3. If running FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE, update to a version after r356911 using: svn update or git pull followed by rebuild from source
  4. Reboot the system after applying updates
  5. Verify the fix by checking: sysctl kern.version | grep -E '(p5|r356911|STABLE)'

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

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2019-15880 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
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