# CVE-2019-3581: McAfee Web Gateway denial of service attack due to Improper Input Validation

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service in McAfee Web Gateway by sending a crafted HTTP request parameter due to improper input validation.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f233-9p3q-5vq9

## What is CVE-2019-3581?

CVE-2019-3581 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in McAfee Web Gateway, published on 9 Jan 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper input validation in the proxy component of McAfee Web Gateway 7.8.2.0 and later allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted HTTP request parameter.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-3581?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mcafee Mcafee Web Gateway.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-3581?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-3581 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-3581 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-3581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in McAfee Web Gateway

- [CVE-2018-6667](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6667/): McAfee Web Gateway - Authentication Bypass vulnerability (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2018-6677](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6677/): McAfee Web Gateway (MWG) - Directory Traversal vulnerability (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2018-6678](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6678/): McAfee Web Gateway (MWG) - Configuration/Environment manipulation vulnerability (low 3.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-3581 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-3581 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in McAfee Web Gateway, published on 9 Jan 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-2019-3581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: McAfee Web Gateway. 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-2019-3581/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3581/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-3581
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-3581
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-3581

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3581/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.