CVE-2019-14878Network attack vector

Service interruption via unchecked allocation result

Published Mar 19, 2020 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

NULL pointer dereference in Newlib before 3.3.0 allows attackers to interrupt service by exhausting memory during floating-point conversion. The __d2b function calls Balloc for a Bigint in mprec.c and dereferences b->_x without checking whether allocation returned NULL. Exploitation requires a low-memory condition while affected firmware formats floating-point values, causing a crash where null-page access is protected.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Newlib before 3.3.0 allows attackers to interrupt service by exhausting memory during floating-point conversion. The __d2b function calls Balloc for a Bigint in mprec.c and dereferences b->_x without checking whether allocation returned NULL. Exploitation requires a low-memory condition while affected firmware formats floating-point values, causing a crash where null-page access is protected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-14878
Published
Mar 19, 2020
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
Newlib Project
Product
Newlib
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 19, 2020CVE 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?

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  1. Affected versionversion=all newlib versions prior to 3.3.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Newlib Project · Newlibversion=all newlib versions prior to 3.3.0

Published CVSS scores

6.5UbuntuCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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