CVE-2019-8961
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 Denial of Service vulnerability related to stack exhaustion has been identified in FlexNet Publisher lmadmin.exe 11.16.2. Because the message reading function calls itself recursively given a certain condition in the received message, an unauthenticated remote attacker can repeatedly send messages of that type to cause a stack exhaustion condition.
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 stack exhaustion DoS vulnerability exists in FlexNet Publisher lmadmin.exe version 11.16.2. The message reading function contains a recursive call vulnerability that can be triggered by unauthenticated remote attackers sending specially crafted messages, causing the function to call itself repeatedly until stack resources are exhausted.
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= 11.16.2CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
-
Verify FlexNet Publisher installationCheck if FlexNet Publisher (lmadmin.exe) is installed on the system by searching for the executable in common installation directories (e.g., C:\Program Files\FlexNet, C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet) or checking Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\FlexNet or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\FlexNetAffected if FlexNet Publisher is installed and version 11.16.2 is confirmed via file properties or version info
-
Check lmadmin.exe versionLocate lmadmin.exe in the installation directory and view its file properties to confirm the exact version number, or use command: wmic datafile where "name='C:\Program Files\FlexNet\lmadmin.exe'" get VersionAffected if Version returned is exactly 11.16.2
-
Verify lmadmin service statusCheck if the lmadmin service is running: open Services console (services.msc) and look for 'FlexNet Licensing Service' or 'lmadmin', or run: sc query lmadminAffected if Service is running and listening on network ports (default port 27000)
-
Check network exposureReview firewall rules and network configuration to determine if the lmadmin service port (typically 27000) is exposed to untrusted networks: run netstat -an | findstr 27000 and check for LISTENING on external interfacesAffected if Service is listening on 0.0.0.0 or external IP address, making it accessible to remote attackers
A system is affected if FlexNet Publisher lmadmin.exe version 11.16.2 is installed and the service is running and network-accessible, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to trigger the recursive call stack exhaustion.
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 patch or upgrade to a patched version of FlexNet Publisher. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the lmadmin service and monitor for unusual traffic patterns indicative of exploitation attempts.
- Consultation3.0 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 $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8961 — 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-2019-8961 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