# CVE-2019-15681: Information disclosure in LibVNC

> An attacker can read stack memory via a memory leak in LibVNC, potentially bypassing ASLR when combined with other vulnerabilities.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 Oct 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2019-15681, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-15681, DLA-1977-1, GHSA-gg2p-m82f-fgjg, MGASA-2019-0368, SUSE-SU-2020:0955-1, SUSE-SU-2020:2009-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-15681, openSUSE-SU-2020:1071-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:11498-1

## What is CVE-2019-15681?

CVE-2019-15681 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 29 Oct 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

LibVNC commit before d01e1bb4246323ba6fcee3b82ef1faa9b1dac82a contains a memory leak (CWE-655) in VNC server code, which allow an attacker to read stack memory and can be abused for information disclosure. Combined with another vulnerability, it can be used to leak stack memory and bypass ASLR. This attack appear to be exploitable via network connectivity. These vulnerabilities have been fixed in commit d01e1bb4246323ba6fcee3b82ef1faa9b1dac82a.

Weakness: CWE-665 (Improper Initialization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-15681?

It affects 9 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `vino` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP1 | All versions | 3.22.0-3.6.76 |
| `vino` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 | All versions | 3.20.2-7.3.21 |
| `vino` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 3.20.2-7.3.21 |
| `vino` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | All versions | 3.20.2-7.3.21 |
| `vino` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 3.20.2-7.3.21 |
| `vino` | openSUSE:Leap 15.1 | All versions | 3.22.0-lp151.4.3.1 |
| `vino` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 3.22.0-7.9 |

Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Libvnc Project Libvncserver, Siemens Simatic Itc1500 Firmware, Siemens Simatic Itc1500 Pro Firmware, Siemens Simatic Itc1900 Firmware, Siemens Simatic Itc1900 Pro Firmware, Siemens Simatic Itc2200 Firmware, Siemens Simatic Itc2200 Pro Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-15681?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2019-15681 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-15681 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-15681 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-15681 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 29 Oct 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-15681 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15681/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15681/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-15681
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-15681
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-15681

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15681/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.