CVE-2019-9874
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 · uneditedDeserialization of Untrusted Data in the Sitecore.Security.AntiCSRF (aka anti CSRF) module in Sitecore CMS 7.0 to 7.2 and Sitecore XP 7.5 to 8.2 allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code by sending a serialized .NET object in the HTTP POST parameter __CSRFTOKEN.
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 confidenceInsecure deserialization vulnerability in Sitecore's AntiCSRF module allows unauthenticated attackers to send malicious serialized .NET objects via the __CSRFTOKEN HTTP POST parameter, leading to arbitrary code execution.
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>= 7.0, <= 7.2>= 7.5, <= 8.2CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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.
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Identify Sitecore installation and versionCheck the Sitecore version by accessing /sitecore/shell/sitecore.js or by looking at the version in the Sitecore login page, or check the web.config for the 'SitecoreVersion' or the assembly version of Sitecore.Kernel.dll in the /bin folderAffected if The installed Sitecore version falls within 7.0-7.2 (CMS) or 7.5-8.2 (Experience Platform)
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Verify anti-CSRF module is enabledCheck the sitecore configuration files (sitecore.config or Sitecore.AntiCSRF.config) for the presence and status of the Sitecore.Security.AntiCSRF module configuration under <processors> sectionAffected if The Sitecore.Security.AntiCSRF module is present and enabled in the configuration
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Confirm __CSRFTOKEN parameter is acceptedSubmit a POST request to any Sitecore form handler (such as /sitecore/shell/Applications/Shell) with a __CSRFTOKEN parameter containing any value and observe if the application processes it without rejecting the requestAffected if The application accepts and processes the __CSRFTOKEN parameter in POST requests without validation errors or rejection
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Check for deserialization protectionReview the Sitecore.Security.AntiCSRF.dll assembly or decompile it to verify if the anti-CSRF module performs any validation on deserialized objects from the __CSRFTOKEN parameterAffected if The module performs no whitelist validation or type checking on the deserialized object before using it
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Inspect HTTP endpoint accessibilityUse a web proxy or curl to send a POST request to the Sitecore instance with the __CSRFTOKEN parameter and verify the endpoint responds (checking if authentication is not enforced on the vulnerable path)Affected if The __CSRFTOKEN parameter can be sent to the target endpoint without requiring authentication
A user is affected if running Sitecore version 7.0-7.2 or 7.5-8.2 with the Sitecore.Security.AntiCSRF module enabled and the __CSRFTOKEN endpoint accessible without proper deserialization validation.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Sitecore to a patched version (outside the vulnerable 7.0-7.2 and 7.5-8.2 ranges) or apply vendor-provided security patches for this specific vulnerability.
Sitecore 10.x (latest stable release) - direct upgrade from 7.x/8.x is not supported; must follow version-by-version path or use Sitecore's migration services
- 1. Backup the entire Sitecore database and file system before proceeding with any upgrade.
- 2. Review Sitecore's official upgrade guide for migrating from your current version to a supported release.
- 3. Plan for a phased upgrade: CMS 7.x -> 8.x -> 9.x -> latest 10.x, as direct jumps between major versions are not supported.
- 4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first, validating all custom code and integrations.
- 5. After upgrade, verify the __CSRFTOKEN parameter is properly handled and no deserialization vulnerabilities remain.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-9874 — 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-2019-9874 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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- 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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