CVE-2019-18991
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 Atheros AR9132 3.60(AMX.8), AR9283 1.85, and AR9285 1.0.0.12NA 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 in Atheros AR9132, AR9283, and AR9285 WiFi chipset firmware allows an attacker to send unencrypted data frames to a WPA2-protected router. The router processes and routes these frames, returning encrypted responses, enabling information disclosure or potential data modification without full authentication.
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= 3.60\(amx.8\)= 1.85= 1.0.0.12naCVSS 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 the WiFi chipset in your deviceCheck the device specifications, router admin interface, or use commands like `lspci | grep -i network`, `lspci | grep -i wireless`, or inspect the output of `iw list` to determine if an Atheros AR9132, AR9283, or AR9285 chipset is presentAffected if The device does not use one of these three Atheros chipsets, then it is not affected by this specific CVE
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Check the installed firmware versionAccess the router web admin interface and look under Wireless, Status, or Firmware Upgrade sections. For embedded systems, you may also retrieve this via `cat /proc/athversion` or by querying the ath9k driver: `cat /sys/kernel/debug/ieee80211/phy*/ath9k/fw_version`Affected if The firmware version matches exactly 3.60(amx.8) for AR9132, 1.85 for AR9283, or 1.0.0.12na for AR9285; only these exact versions are listed as affected
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Verify WPA2 security is in useCheck the wireless security configuration through the router admin interface under Wireless Security settings, or use `iw dev <interface> info` to confirm the auth modeAffected if WPA2-Personal or WPA2-Enterprise is enabled; the vulnerability specifically allows sending unencrypted frames to WPA2-protected routers, which is the condition required for exploitation
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Confirm the device is acting as an access point or routerDetermine if the device is configured as an AP, wireless router, or mesh node by checking the network topology or device role in the admin interfaceAffected if The device is functioning as an access point or router that processes and routes wireless traffic; the vulnerability allows an attacker to inject frames that the device will route while responding encryptedly
You are affected if your device uses an AR9132, AR9283, or AR9285 chipset with firmware exactly matching the listed versions and is configured as a WPA2 access point or router.
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 available firmware updates from the device vendor; if patches are unavailable due to end-of-life status, replace affected devices with newer hardware and consider network segmentation or VPN tunneling as compensating controls.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-18991 — 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-2019-18991 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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