# CVE-2019-5489: Information disclosure in n/a

> Local attackers can observe page cache access patterns to sniff secret information, with limited remote exploitation possible via latency differences.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2019-5489, GHSA-384f-f7vj-vfh4, RHSA-2019:2808, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-5489

## What is CVE-2019-5489?

CVE-2019-5489 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 Jan 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The mincore() implementation in mm/mincore.c in the Linux kernel through 4.19.13 allowed local attackers to observe page cache access patterns of other processes on the same system, potentially allowing sniffing of secret information. (Fixing this affects the output of the fincore program.) Limited remote exploitation may be possible, as demonstrated by latency differences in accessing public files from an Apache HTTP Server.

Weakness: CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5489?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kernel` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-PAE` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-PAE-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-PAE-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-headers` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-kdump` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-kdump-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-kdump-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-xen` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-xen-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |
| `kernel-xen-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.6.18-439.el5 |

Products: Linux kernel, Netapp Active Iq Performance Analytics Services, Netapp Element Software Management Node.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5489?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2019-5489 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5489 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Page Cache Side Channel Attacks (CVE-2019-5489) proof of concept for Linux (github_poc): https://github.com/mmxsrup/CVE-2019-5489

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-5489 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5489 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 Jan 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5489 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2019-5489/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5489/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5489
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5489
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5489

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5489/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.