CVE-2019-14850Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Service degradation via premature plugin initialization

Published Mar 18, 2021 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

Denial of service in nbdkit before 1.12.7 and in 1.14.0 and 1.15.0 allows remote attackers to degrade service via TCP connections. The connection handler calls the configured plugin's .open callback immediately after the TCP handshake, before NBD negotiation or TLS authentication, so idle connections can trigger costly SSH sessions or virtual-machine launches. Exploitation requires TCP access and a plugin with an expensive .open callback; Unix-socket-only deployments and lightweight plugins are not exposed.

CVSS severity3.7
Low
EPSS probability1.60%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in nbdkit before 1.12.7 and in 1.14.0 and 1.15.0 allows remote attackers to degrade service via TCP connections. The connection handler calls the configured plugin's .open callback immediately after the TCP handshake, before NBD negotiation or TLS authentication, so idle connections can trigger costly SSH sessions or virtual-machine launches. Exploitation requires TCP access and a plugin with an expensive .open callback; Unix-socket-only deployments and lightweight plugins are not exposed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-14850
Published
Mar 18, 2021
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
389 Directory Server
Product
nbdkit
Classifications
CWE-406, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 18, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=nbdkit 1.12.7, nbdkit 1.14.1, nbdkit 1.15.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

389 Directory Server · nbdkitversion=nbdkit 1.12.7, nbdkit 1.14.1, nbdkit 1.15.1

Published CVSS scores

3.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
2.6NIST NVDAV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
3.7UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-406Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification)
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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