CVE-2019-19141
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 · uneditedThe Camera Upload functionality in Plex Media Server through 1.18.2.2029 allows remote authenticated users to write files anywhere the user account running the Plex Media Server has permissions. This allows remote code execution via a variety of methods, such as (on a default Ubuntu installation) creating a .ssh folder in the plex user's home directory via directory traversal, uploading an SSH authorized_keys file there, and logging into the host as the Plex user via SSH.
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 confidencePlex Media Server's Camera Upload feature contains an arbitrary file write vulnerability via directory traversal. Authenticated users can escape the intended upload directory and write files anywhere the Plex service account has filesystem permissions, enabling privilege escalation to code execution by writing SSH authorized_keys or other malicious content to the Plex user's home directory.
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<= 1.18.2.2029CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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.
-
Identify Plex Media Server installationLocate the Plex Media Server executable or service. On Windows, check Program Files\Plex\Plex Media Server\PlexMediaServer.exe. On Linux, check /usr/lib/plexmediaserver or /opt/plexmediaserver. On macOS, check /Applications/Plex Media Server.app.Affected if Plex Media Server is installed on the system
-
Determine installed Plex Media Server versionOpen the Plex web interface and navigate to Settings > General, or check the Plex Media Server logs (Plex Media Server.log) for the version string. The version format is like 1.18.2.2029 or later.Affected if The installed version number is 1.18.2.2029 or lower (any version <= 1.18.2.2029)
-
Check if Camera Upload feature is enabledIn the Plex web interface, go to Settings > Plugins > Camera Upload, or examine the preferences file (Preferences.xml in the Plex data directory) for the setting 'CameraUploadChannelEnable' set to '1'.Affected if Camera Upload is enabled (the feature is turned on)
-
Review Plex service account file permissionsExamine the filesystem permissions on the Plex data directory and the service account's home directory. Check if the Plex user has write access to sensitive locations such as ~/.ssh/, home directories, or system configuration folders.Affected if The Plex service account has write permissions to locations outside the designated upload directory (anywhere beyond the intended Camera Upload folder)
You are affected if Plex Media Server version is 1.18.2.2029 or lower AND the Camera Upload feature is enabled, allowing an authenticated user to escape the upload directory and write files to locations where the Plex service account has permissions.
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 dataUpgrade Plex Media Server to version 1.18.3 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable the Camera Upload feature, restrict the Plex service account permissions to the minimum required, and consider network isolation of the Plex server.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-19141 — 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-2019-19141 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data