# CVE-2019-15799: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Low-privilege SSH users can retrieve and decrypt admin passwords via tech-support command, leading to full administrative access on Zyxel switches.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Nov 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fvpf-4m7h-jg3p

## What is CVE-2019-15799?

CVE-2019-15799 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Nov 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered on Zyxel GS1900 devices with firmware before 2.50(AAHH.0)C0. User accounts created through the web interface of the device, when given non-admin level privileges, have the same level of privileged access as administrators when connecting to the device via SSH (while their permissions via the web interface are in fact restricted). This allows normal users to obtain the administrative password by running the tech-support command via the CLI: this contains the encrypted passwords for all users on the device. As these passwords are encrypted using well-known and static parameters, they can be decrypted and the original passwords (including the administrator password) can be obtained.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-15799?

It affects 9 products.


Products: Zyxel Gs1900-10hp Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-16 Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-24 Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-24e Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-24hp Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-48 Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-48hp Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-8 Firmware, Zyxel Gs1900-8hp Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-15799?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-15799 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-15799 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-15799 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2026-7273](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-7273/): Zyxel GS1900 Series Switches Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-15800](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15800/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-5988](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5988/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-5989](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5989/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-15803](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15803/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-15799 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-15799 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Nov 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-15799 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2019-15799/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15799/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-15799
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-15799
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-15799

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15799/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.