# CVE-2019-19905: Memory corruption in n/a

> Buffer overflow in NetHack allows privilege escalation or code execution on systems with suid/sgid binaries or user-uploaded configs.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Dec 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** CVE-2019-16787, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-19905, GHSA-3cm7-rgh5-9pq5, GHSA-fqgf-vjr9-95rf, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-19905

## What is CVE-2019-19905?

CVE-2019-19905 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Dec 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.

Weakness: CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-19905?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nethack Nethack.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-19905?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-19905 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-19905 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/dpmdpm2/CVE-2019-19905 (github_poc): https://github.com/dpmdpm2/CVE-2019-19905

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2023-24809](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-24809/): NetHack Call command buffer overflow (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2020-5209](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5209/): NetHack command line parsing of options starting with -de and -i is subject to a buffer overflow (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2020-5210](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5210/): NetHack command line -w option parsing is subject to a buffer overflow (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2020-5211](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5211/): NetHack AUTOCOMPLETE configuration file option is subject to a buffer overflow (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2020-5212](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5212/): NetHack MENUCOLOR configuration file option is subject to a buffer overflow (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-19905 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-19905 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Dec 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-2019-19905 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-2019-19905/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-19905/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-19905
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-19905
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-19905

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-19905/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.