CVE-2019-18905
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 Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity vulnerability in autoyast2 of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 allows remote attackers to MITM connections when deprecated and unused functionality of autoyast is used to create images. This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 autoyast2 version 4.1.9-3.9.1 and prior versions. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 autoyast2 version 4.0.70-3.20.1 and prior versions.
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 confidenceInsufficient Verification of Data Authenticity in autoyast2 allows remote attackers to perform Man-in-the-Middle attacks when deprecated and unused functionality is used for image creation. The vulnerability stems from lack of proper certificate/identity verification when autoyast2 retrieves data over the network during the image creation process.
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<= 4.1.9-3.9.1<= 4.0.70-3.20.1CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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.
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Check if autoyast2 is installedRun 'rpm -qa | grep autoyast2' or 'zypper se autoyast2' on the OpenSUSE systemAffected if The autoyast2 package is present on the system
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Determine installed autoyast2 versionRun 'rpm -q autoyast2' or 'zypper info autoyast2' to retrieve the exact version numberAffected if The version number is <= 4.1.9-3.9.1 or <= 4.0.70-3.20.1
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Identify if deprecated image creation is configuredExamine AutoYaST profile XML files (typically in /root/autoinst.xml or /etc/autoinst.xml) for elements related to image creation, such as <image> or <swap> sections that pull data from network locationsAffected if The AutoYaST profile contains network-based image creation directives that retrieve data from remote locations without TLS/certificate validation
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Check for network-based data retrieval in profilesSearch AutoYaST profile files for URLs pointing to HTTP or unverified network sources, especially in <location> or similar elements used during image setupAffected if The profile specifies non-HTTPS or unvalidated network locations for fetching image or installation data
The system is affected if autoyast2 version is at or below the affected thresholds AND an AutoYaST profile is configured to use deprecated network-based image creation functionality pulling data from remote sources without proper certificate verification.
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 dataDisable or remove the deprecated/unused autoyast functionality that lacks proper data authenticity verification, or ensure all network connections use proper TLS/certificate validation when using autoyast for image creation.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-18905 — 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-2019-18905 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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