CVE-2019-18990
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 partial authentication bypass vulnerability exists on Realtek RTL8812AR 1.21WW, RTL8196D 1.0.0, RTL8192ER 2.10, and RTL8881AN 1.09 devices. The vulnerability allows sending an unencrypted data frame to a WPA2-protected WLAN router where the packet is routed through the network. If successful, a response is sent back as an encrypted frame, which would allow an attacker to discern information or potentially modify data.
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 confidenceA partial authentication bypass vulnerability in Realtek RTL8812AR, RTL8196D, RTL8192ER, and RTL8881AN WiFi chipsets allows an attacker to send unencrypted data frames to a WPA2-protected WLAN router. The router processes and routes these frames, responding with encrypted frames. This enables an attacker to infer network information or potentially modify data by observing encrypted responses to unencrypted requests.
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= 1.21ww= 1.0.0= 2.10= 1.09CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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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Identify WiFi hardware chipsetCheck device specifications, router admin interface, or use commands like 'lspci | grep -i wifi', 'iw dev', or 'lsusb' to identify the Realtek WiFi chipset model (RTL8812AR, RTL8196D, RTL8192ER, or RTL8881AN)Affected if The device contains one of the four affected Realtek chipset models
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Check firmware version on the WiFi chipsetAccess the router or wireless device admin interface, look for firmware version information under Wireless settings or System Info, or use vendor-specific diagnostic tools to query the chipset firmware versionAffected if The firmware version matches exactly: 1.21ww for RTL8812AR, 1.0.0 for RTL8196D, 2.10 for RTL8192ER, or 1.09 for RTL8881AN
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Verify WiFi is configured with WPA2 securityCheck wireless configuration settings via router admin interface or using 'iw dev <interface> info' to confirm WPA2-Personal or WPA2-Enterprise security is enabledAffected if The wireless interface uses WPA2 encryption (the vulnerability exploits WPA2-protected networks)
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Confirm wireless interface is activeCheck if the WiFi interface is up and associated using 'iwconfig', 'ip link show', or through the router admin interface status pageAffected if The WiFi interface is active and clients are connected (vulnerability requires active WLAN processing unencrypted frames)
Your environment is affected if you have a device using an RTL8812AR, RTL8196D, RTL8192ER, or RTL8881AN WiFi chipset running the exact firmware versions (1.21ww, 1.0.0, 2.10, or 1.09 respectively) with WPA2 security enabled on an active wireless interface.
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 vendor-supplied firmware updates for affected Realtek WiFi chipsets. If updates are unavailable, implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices and restrict WLAN access patterns.
- 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-2019-18990 — 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-2019-18990 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
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