# CVE-2019-5605: Information disclosure in FreeBSD

> Insufficient memory initialization in the FreeBSD 32-bit ioctl interface allows local attackers to read kernel memory, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Jul 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hm9x-fx9w-m295

## What is CVE-2019-5605?

CVE-2019-5605 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 26 Jul 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In FreeBSD 11.3-STABLE before r350217, 11.3-RELEASE before 11.3-RELEASE-p1, and 11.2-RELEASE before 11.2-RELEASE-p12, due to insufficient initialization of memory copied to userland in the freebsd32_ioctl interface, small amounts of kernel memory may be disclosed to userland processes. This may allow an attacker to leverage this information to obtain elevated privileges either directly or indirectly.

Weakness: CWE-665 (Improper Initialization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5605?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Freebsd Freebsd.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5605?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-5605 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-5605 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5605 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Freebsd Freebsd

- [CVE-2018-17160](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17160/): Memory corruption in FreeBSD (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2014-3954](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3954/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-4304](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-4304/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-0226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0226/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0002/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-5605 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5605 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 26 Jul 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-2019-5605 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Freebsd Freebsd. 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-2019-5605/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5605/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5605
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5605
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5605

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5605/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.