CVE-2019-15880

Kernel panic via unchecked MAC key length

Published May 13, 2020 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

Denial of service in FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE before r356911 and 12.1-RELEASE before p5 allows local users to trigger a kernel panic. The cryptodev session-creation path accepts a user-supplied MAC key length and uses it directly to size a kernel buffer without validation. Exploitation requires local access to /dev/crypto and a loaded cryptodev module, which is not loaded by default, and crashes the host.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.50%
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 FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE before r356911 and 12.1-RELEASE before p5 allows local users to trigger a kernel panic. The cryptodev session-creation path accepts a user-supplied MAC key length and uses it directly to size a kernel buffer without validation. Exploitation requires local access to /dev/crypto and a loaded cryptodev module, which is not loaded by default, and crashes the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-15880
Published
May 13, 2020
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
The FreeBSD Project
Product
FreeBSD
Classifications
CWE-119, CWE-20, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 13, 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?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE before p5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The FreeBSD Project · FreeBSDversion=FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE before p5

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-119Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
CWE-20Improper Input Validation
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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