CVE-2019-8580
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 · uneditedSource-routed IPv4 packets were disabled by default. This issue is fixed in AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.8.1, AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.9.1. Source-routed IPv4 packets may be unexpectedly accepted.
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 confidenceThe AirPort Base Station firmware had a vulnerability where source-routed IPv4 packets were unexpectedly accepted instead of being rejected by default. Source routing allows a sender to specify the path a packet takes through the network, which can be exploited to bypass security controls, perform man-in-the-middle attacks, or circumvent network segmentation.
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< 7.8.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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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Identify the device as an AirPort Base StationAccess the AirPort Utility application on a Mac (found in /Applications/Utilities/) or use the AirPort Base Station admin web interface by entering the device's IP address in a browser. Confirm the device model is an Apple AirPort Base Station (including Express, Extreme, or Time Capsule variants).Affected if The device is any model of Apple AirPort Base Station.
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Check the installed firmware versionIn AirPort Utility, select the base station and click 'Edit' then 'Version' to display the firmware version. Alternatively, access the web admin interface at the base station's IP address and navigate to the status or summary page to view the firmware build number.Affected if The displayed firmware version is below 7.8.1 (for example, 7.7.9, 7.6.x, or earlier).
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Verify source-routed IPv4 packet handlingAccess the AirPort Base Station web admin interface and navigate to the Network or Advanced settings tab. Look for options related to 'IP Forwarding', 'Source Routing', or 'Router' settings. Check whether source-routed packets are explicitly allowed or blocked.Affected if Source-routed IPv4 packets are explicitly allowed or the option to reject source-routed packets is missing or disabled.
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Test for source routing acceptance externallyFrom an external host, use a tool like hping3 or scapy to send ICMP packets with source routing options (such as -s flag in hping3) targeting the AirPort Base Station's public IP. A vulnerable device will accept and process these packets; a patched device will reject them.Affected if The AirPort Base Station responds to or processes source-routed packets (the packets are not dropped at the network perimeter).
A user is affected if they are running an AirPort Base Station with firmware version below 7.8.1 and source-routed IPv4 packets are being accepted by the device.
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 data7.8.1
Update AirPort Base Station firmware to version 7.8.1 or 7.9.1 (or later) to ensure source-routed IPv4 packets are disabled by default, as per the vendor fix.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8580 — 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-2019-8580 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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